Department for Transport

Govia Thameslink Railway: Franchises

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department will finish its review into the conduct of Go-Ahead and Keolis before making a decision on whether to award a franchising contract to Govia Thameslink Railway.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has reviewed the financial conduct of Govia Thameslink Railway as part of its investigation into London and South Eastern Railway.

Wendy Morton: The investigation will carefully examine the role of LSER, its owning groups and other subsidiaries to understand the extent of the issues. The Department will undertake a rigorous review and examination of the evidence provided, to consider whether further action or investigation is required. The outputs of the current investigation will help determine if it is appropriate to enter into a contract with GTR.

Southeastern: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received evidence of (a) profit share disputes or (b) malpractice by London and South Eastern Railway in addition to those identified in relation to HS1.

Wendy Morton: The Department continues to engage with the Independent Committee, formed by the Chairs of Go-Ahead Group and Keolis UK, to correctly identify all historic balances relating to the London South Eastern Railway (LSER) franchise which are due back to the Department. This includes the correct level of profit due through contracted ‘profit share’ arrangements.

Southeastern: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take any steps on allegations of fraud at London and South Eastern Railway; and if he will make a statement.

Wendy Morton: The Department’s investigations are still ongoing, and it would not be appropriate if I commented on any possible investigations until these have been concluded.

Southeastern: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) terms, (b) members and (c) scope of the recent owning group investigation into alleged fraud within London and South Eastern Railway.

Wendy Morton: The Department is carefully considering the contents of the final report and next steps are being worked through as a priority with key decisions expected to be confirmed shortly. The Department will be considering what information it is appropriate to make public when making these decisions.

Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern Rail Franchise

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a cost benefit analysis has been conducted of the Operator of Last Resort running Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail services.

Wendy Morton: I can confirm that my Department is following its well-established procedure for selection where no invitation for tender is issued in accordance with the Section 26 franchising policy statement (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/243471/9780108512322.pdf). This process takes account of all relevant factors, in accordance with paragraph 14 of that policy, including value for money.

Southeastern: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the amount owed to his Department by London and South Eastern Railway.

Wendy Morton: To date, the Department has received a payment of £49.2m from LSER with final balances still to be confirmed.

Southeastern: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what penalties he is considering for Go-Ahead and Keolis in light of the alleged seven-year fraud by their subsidiary London and South Eastern Railway.

Wendy Morton: The Department is considering further enforcement action including a statutory penalty under the Railways Act and will be making a decision on this shortly.

Railways: Franchises

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the terms and scope are for the Government Internal Audit Agency review of the controls and assurance procedures around rail contracts, commissioned by his Department in respect of the Southeastern franchise; and when that review will be published.

Wendy Morton: The Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) review is still ongoing. The GIAA will review existing controls and assurance procedures that protect the Department against the risks it faces, and provide advice on any areas for improvement. The Department will carefully consider the GIAA’s advice and take action as appropriate.

Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern Rail Franchise

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Operator of Last Resort to run Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern services in the event that is necessary when the Govia Thameslink Railway contract expires in March 2022.

Wendy Morton: I can confirm that, in line with my Department’s usual approach, officials in my Department have been working on contingency plans to transfer Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern services to the public sector operator in the event of it not being appropriate to enter into a replacement contract with the existing operator in accordance with the Section 26 policy statement (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/243471/9780108512322.pdf). I am advised that in the event that it is not appropriate to enter into a replacement contract with the incumbent operator, my Department will be in a position to transfer these services to the public sector operator from 1 April 2022 without any break in the continuity of services.

Railways: Electrification

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of electrifying all railway lines in (a) the North East and (b) England.

Wendy Morton: As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the UK Government is committed to achieving a net zero railway by 2050. Achieving that will require a mix of battery trains, hydrogen trains and track electrification, not just wholesale electrification of the currently unelectrified network. Electrification costs across the country can vary significantly depending on factors that include complexity and topography. We will continue to ensure that new schemes deliver value for money for taxpayers.

A1079: East Riding

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what new proposals he has to improve (a) safety and (b) traffic flows on the A1079 in East Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Trudy Harrison: A scheme to improve the A1079 at Wilberfoss is in the Department’s Major Road Network programme of Local Authority promoted schemes. My officials are awaiting additional information from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the scheme’s promoter, following which advice will be provided to Ministers on whether the scheme should be approved for funding. A further scheme, the A164 Jock's Lodge Junction Improvement Scheme which would improve the A164/A1079 junction, is also in our programme of Local Authority promoted schemes. The Final Business case is scheduled to be submitted later this year.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to implement the recommendations made in the Tenth Report of the Transport Select Committee, Session 2017–19, entitled Local roads funding and maintenance: filling the gap, HC 1486, and accepted by the Government in its response to that report; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of 5-year budgets for local roads maintenance to enable planned asset management and achieve better value for money.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance he has issued to (a) Herefordshire Council and (b) other local authorities on current best practice in local roads maintenance to achieve better outcomes and better value for money.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department issues national guidance to local authorities on best practice to enable the public to better report local road defects.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether local highways responsibilities are placed at the right level.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using low carbon warm mix asphalt to repair local roads to help ensure the roads reopen quicker after repair.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of issuing guidance to local authorities on the use of longer lasting road surfacing materials in order to lower lifecycle costs.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of local authorities accessing prudential borrowing to reduce the time taken to carry out local road maintenance; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the use of prudential borrowing for that purpose.

Trudy Harrison: As announced in the October 2021 Spending Review, the Government is investing over £2.7 billion over the next three years for local highway maintenance in England, outside London, in places not receiving City Region Settlements. This includes those places’ share of the £500 million per annum Pothole Fund announced at Budget 2020.  The three-year funding settlement will help local highway authorities plan effectively for managing their highways assets, from tackling potholes to repairing bridges and other asset defects across their local road networks. The Department for Transport encourages good practice in local highway maintenance for all local highway authorities and endorses the UK Roads Liaison Group’s Code of Practice on Well Managed Highway Infrastructure. As part of the Incentive Element, the Department requires local highway authorities to provide an online portal for members of the public to report potholes and other highway defects. The Department is funding three projects specifically aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials through the Live Labs programme, a £22.9 million research programme. It is for each local authority to decide how best to maintain their local highways assets.

A15: Lincolnshire

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from (a) local highway authorities and (b) other stakeholders on allocating Major Road Network (MRN) funding to enable the A15 north of Lincoln to be dualled in whole or in part; and what assessment has been made of the potential merits of dualling that section of the A15 as part of the Government's levelling up programme.

Trudy Harrison: The A15 north of Lincoln is the responsibility of local highway authorities – Lincolnshire County Council and North Lincolnshire Council. It is for those authorities to prioritise areas of their networks for improvements, and to seek funding, if required. The Department has not received applications to either the Major Roads Network or Levelling Up Fund proposing to dual the A15 north of Lincoln. The issue has been raised via the Northern Transport Acceleration Council and we understand that the local highway authorities are currently examining options and impacts of the works.

Railway Stations: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 105660 on Railway Stations: Disability, what further progress has been made towards finalising a public consultation to revise the Design Standards for Accessible Stations: A Code of Practice.

Wendy Morton: We are in the process of finalising a public consultation to revise the Design Standards for Accessible Stations: A Code of Practice. We will make a further announcement shortly.

Trains: Hydrogen

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing hydrogen-powered trains.

Wendy Morton: In our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, we have committed to delivering a net zero rail network by 2050, with sustained carbon reductions in rail along the way. To help deliver the government’s net zero commitment, we will electrify most of the network and deploy battery and hydrogen trains on some lines, where it makes economic and operational sense. The government is supporting the development of battery and hydrogen technology in rail through innovation funding and research. The outcome of this research will inform any assessment of the relevant merits of hydrogen, battery and electrification on the railway. Since the start of 2019, the Department has provided just over £4m of funding through Innovate UK-run First of a Kind competitions for new traction technologies that will help decarbonise the railway. This includes £750,000 to facilitate trials of the UK’s first hydrogen-powered train, HydroFLEX, which was showcased at COP 26. In addition, Great Western Railway has signed a deal that will see the UK’s first battery-only train enter scheduled passenger service. The trial is supported by £2.15m funding from the Department for Transport's Rail Network Enhancement pipeline (RNEP).

Railways: Huddersfield and Wakefield

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with rail provides on ensuring a regular rail service between Huddersfield and Wakefield.

Wendy Morton: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 23 February 2022 to Question UIN 124974.

Transport for London: Finance

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) hours of staff time and (b) cost to his Department of the negotiating rounds with Transport for London in relation to the setting of Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreements since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Trudy Harrison: Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has provided Transport for London (TfL) with over £4.5bn of emergency funding support. Staffing and resources for the preparation and monitoring of these funding agreements is proportionate to the overall demand it places on the Department. This is regularly reviewed to ensure the resources in place are appropriate.

Calder Valley Line

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional trains are planned to run from Bradford rail stations to Manchester rail stations each weekday under the Integrated Rail Plan.

Andrew Stephenson: Direct services between Manchester and Bradford will remain at typically 2 trains per hour as part of the Integrated Rail Plan. However, a similar journey time should be possible by instead changing at Leeds onto NPR services, making use of the electrification and upgrade of the Calder Valley Line from Bradford to Leeds which will reduce journey times to as low as 12 minutes. That would give up to quadrupling of typical frequency.

Buses: Highway Code

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of section 223 of the Highway Code that road users must give priority to buses pulling out into traffic.

Trudy Harrison: It is vital that learner drivers have a thorough theoretical knowledge and understanding of driving to become safe and competent drivers. To provide learners with the information needed, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) produces ‘The Highway Code’, ‘Driving – the essential skills’ and ‘Know your traffic signs’.The DVSA raises awareness of a Highway Code rule if there is evidence to suggest a lack of understanding of the subject area either through candidates getting related theory test questions incorrect, or road safety incidents occurring.

Driving Tests: Jarrow

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will meet with the hon Member for Jarrow to discuss the reported planned permanent closure of the South Shields Driving Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate in Jarrow in April 2022.

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the overall running costs of the South Shields Driving Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate, Jarrow have been in each of the last five years.

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the requirement on the number of parking bays required for each driving test centre is.

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) square footage, (b) facilities, (c) IT requirements, (d) energy supply, (e) health and safety and (f) specifications are required for each driving test centre examiner to carry out a test.

Trudy Harrison: As the Minister responsible for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Baroness Vere is happy to meet with the hon Member for Jarrow to discuss the closure of South Shields driving test centre. DVSA is not able to release building running and occupancy costs as this information is commercially sensitive. It is usual for the DVSA to allocate two parking bays per the maximum number of examiners that are deployed to test at each location. Facilities needed at a test centre would include two sets of WCs, a waiting room and car parking. The accommodation would need a mains electricity supply with access to plug points and lights, a water supply and the building must be heated and cleaned daily. The required square footage (sqft) per driving examiner is around 550 sqft including workspace (97 sqft in isolation), circulation, amenity, waiting room (for four people), and WC but excluding parking. In order to carry our administrative duties, driving examiners require access to the internet. The DVSA would need Health & Safety evidence if a building was to be used as a test centre that complied with the statutory requirements as listed below. Compliance must be monitored and maintained in accordance with relevant legislation, regulation, British Standard and Approved Code of Practices: Fire risk assessmentFire alarm maintenanceFirefighting equipment maintenanceEmergency lighting drop testInsurance inspection lift (if present)Boiler maintenanceElectrical installation certificateLightning protection maintenanceAsbestos management inspectionWater risk assessmentPortable appliance testRadon monitoring If the building is multi-occupancy, the DVSA would need evidence that all common parts of the building were monitored and maintained for statutory purposes in accordance with relevant legislation, regulation, British Standard and Approved Code of Practices.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Driving Tests

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to speed up the HGV driver testing process to reduce the time period between a person seeking work as a HGV driver and qualifying.

Trudy Harrison: Drivers must pass all four parts of the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) tests to be issued with their Driver Qualification Card (DQC). There are no minimum waiting periods between each module. Most drivers take Module 1 (theory and hazard perception) and module 2 (case studies) together, complete their module 3 (practical test), and then take their module 4 (practical demonstration test) which can be completed with their training school. Once module 4 is passed, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) send data to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) overnight. The DVLA target is to dispatch these cards one day after receiving the data. There are no delays to this service or in issuing the DQC which the driver should have within a week of passing their module 4 test. A driver can begin work as soon as they have their DQC card.

Shipping: Liquefied Natural Gas

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support he is providing to increase the number of ships fuelled by LNG.

Robert Courts: Natural gas in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) offers the potential for large reductions in all air pollutant emissions but limited GHG savings when compared to incumbent fuels (heavy fuel oil, marine diesel oil).Our Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, launched in March 2021, allocated over £23m of research and development funding to 55 projects across the UK, including projects exploring internal combustion engine technology that is capable of using zero emission fuels like hydrogen, methanol and ammonia. The competition also supports projects on green shipbuilding, placing the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vessels.As set out in the Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener (October 2021), we will extend the CMDC to a multi-year programme. We will publish details of any future competitions in due course, including guidance for applicants.

Helicopters: Storms

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many commercial helicopter flights to offshore oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf were cancelled due to storms (a) Dudley, (b) Eunice and (c) Franklin.

Robert Courts: Neither the Department for Transport (DfT) nor the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) hold this information. As North Sea helicopter movements are non-scheduled, operators do not provide flight data to the CAA. Only the operators themselves will know how many flights they cancelled or postponed because of the three storms. Flight operations in the North Sea are frequently subject to extreme weather conditions. Therefore, operators will have numerous standard operation procedures determining when they fly and when they don’t.

London Underground: Industrial Disputes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to mitigate the impact of forthcoming London Underground strikes on (a) the London Borough of Havering, (b) other outer London boroughs.

Trudy Harrison: Transport in London is devolved and is the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). While the Department for Transport works closely with TfL on a range of issues, operational decisions are entirely a matter for them including contingency planning for any potential disruption.

Transport for London: Finance

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of the extension letter to Transport for London which he referred to in his letter of 17 December 2021 to hon. Members representing London constituencies.

Trudy Harrison: I can confirm that the extension letter of 17 December 2021, extending the 1 June 2021 extraordinary funding settlement for Transport for London, will be placed in the Library and published on Gov.uk.

Low Emission Zones and Tolls: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the impact of the cost of the (a) Ultra Low Emission Zone and (b) Congestion Charge on businesses in (a) the London Borough of Havering, (b) outer London boroughs and (c) Greater London.

Trudy Harrison: Transport in London is devolved and is the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). While the Department for Transport works closely with TfL on a range of issues, the operation and monitoring of the Ultra Low Emission Zone and the Congestion Charge are entirely matters for them.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on supporting (a) public electric vehicle charging infrastructure and (b) off-street EV charging infrastructure in each of the last five years.

Trudy Harrison: Figures detailing the funding spent through the Government’s various electric vehicle infrastructure schemes are show in the table below.  2021/22 YTD2020/212019/202018/192017/18EVHS and WCS£29,297,000£25,962,000£13,248,000£13,323,000£10,316,000ORCS, GULCSs and TAXI£7,637,000£6,169,000£20,342,000£5,368,000£11,137,000Total£36,934,000£32,131,000£33,590,000£18,691,000£21,453,000 EVHS – Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme.WCS – Workplace Charging Scheme.ORCS – On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.GULCSs – Go Ultra Low City SchemesTAXI – Taxi Infrastructure

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric vehicle charging points have been installed in the last five years.

Trudy Harrison: Between 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2022, the number of public chargepoints increased by 23,264 according to data provided by Zap-map. The number of charging points and sockets for private electric vehicles installed under the Government grant schemes – Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme and the Workplace Charging Scheme - between 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2022 are 231,011.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Trudy Harrison: The Government has put in place a comprehensive package of measures to make it easier and cheaper to switch to a zero emission vehicle. Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support this transition. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. This year, the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme will be reformed to provide additional help for people living in rented and leasehold accommodation and the Workplace Charging Scheme will be opened to small accommodation business and the charity sector. This will help to accelerate electric vehicle uptake in rural areas and support the UK tourist industry. For those without access to off-street parking, the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which is available to all UK local authorities will help to provide public chargepoints for their residents. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit.  Last year Government introduced legislation requiring all new or majorly renovated buildings in England to have chargepoints if there is associated parking. Government does not intend to stop here and recently consulted on chargepoint provision in existing car parks as well.  Later this year we will launch our new Local EV Infrastructure Fund (LEVI). This will facilitate the rollout of larger-scale chargepoint infrastructure projects across England for local areas. In May 2020, we published an ambitious vision for rapid charging infrastructure along strategic roads in England. The Government will invest £950 million through the Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) in future proofing grid capacity at motorway and major A road service areas to prepare the network for uptake of zero emission cars and vans ahead of need. The RCF will ensure they have the connections to meet future demand for high powered chargepoints.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will publish his Department's conclusions on proposed reforms to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Trudy Harrison: Following a consultation on Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) reforms last year, in July 2021 we published “Targeting net zero - next steps for the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation: government response”. Parliament approved the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Amendment) Order 2021 in December, which delivers the bulk of the changes set out in that government response. Further to last year’s consultation we are also continuing to develop proposals that would extend support under the RTFO to recycled carbon fuels (RCFs). The consultation generated significant evidence, including on criteria RCFs must meet, and we will be publishing a further targeted consultation later this year. In addition, a government response on proposals to reward renewable fuels from non-biological origin, such as hydrogen, more flexibly under the RTFO will be published shortly.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric vehicle charging points will be installed in the next five years.

Trudy Harrison: Government has committed over £1.3 billion to accelerate the rollout of charging infrastructure. We have targets for on-route charging on the Strategic Road Network to ensure there are enough chargepoints to enable long distance journeys and, by the end of 2023, we aim to have at least 6 high powered, open access chargepoints (150 - 350 kilowatt capable) at motorway service areas in England. Further, on 15 December 2021, Government introduced legislation which requires new homes and homes undergoing major renovation with associated parking to have a chargepoint installed. We will soon publish our EV Infrastructure Strategy, setting out our vision for future public charging provision. The numbers of chargepoints required in different parts of the country will vary according to the right charging mixes for the population and local uptake of EVs. However, we are committed to ensuring rollout continues to progress at pace and that no area gets left behind.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of on-street electric vehicle charging points using (a) lampposts and (b) under pavement wires.

Trudy Harrison: We want people across the country to have the opportunity to make the move to electric vehicles (EVs). Most EV drivers choose to charge their cars at home overnight or at work. For those without access or undertaking longer journeys, public charging is important. The Government is supporting local authorities to deploy chargepoints for their residents without access to off-street parking. The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities and has so far awarded funding to over 142 different local authorities to install over 6,500 chargepoints. This year, funding of £20 million will allow installation of slow and fast chargepoints, including those installed in lampposts. In addition, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicle’s (OZEV) ‘on-street’ research and development programme is providing £30 million to deliver low-cost, scalable charging solutions for the UK’s 8 million households (such as terraced houses) without off-street parking. We have also funded companies delivering lamppost charging, as well as pop-up chargepoints to reduce street clutter. Government is continually supporting the development of innovative charging solutions, including exploring ‘channel solutions’ such as under pavement wires. For example, OZEV have provided funding through Innovate UK to Oxford City Council to develop and test their gulley solution. Government will publish its forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy soon. This will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the whole of the UK.

Bus Services: Ashfield

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support Trent Barton bus services continue their regular operation schedule across Ashfield and Eastwood.

Trudy Harrison: We have provided unprecedented support for local transport during the pandemic. For bus, operators and local authorities have received funding through the £1.5bn Coronavirus Bus Service Support Grant, and the ongoing £226.5m Bus Recovery Grant. Recognising the need for further support, an additional £29m uplift will be provided to recipients of the Bus Recovery Grant this financial year. Trent Barton can access this funding in the same way as other bus services within the sector. Discussions are ongoing regarding the costs and benefits of measures to support the sector beyond April, and we are working closely with stakeholders to understand the potential challenges and possible mitigations once recovery funding ends.

Railways: Bradford and Leeds

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional trains will run from Bradford to Leeds each day under the Integrated Rail Plan.

Andrew Stephenson: The Integrated Rail Plan set out how we will transform connectivity between Bradford and Leeds through electrification and upgrades to the existing Calder Valley Route. We expect this to allow at least two additional services each hour, and a non-stopping journey time as low as 12 minutes. These upgrades will also see improved journey times on local stopping services along the full Calder Valley Route due to the introduction of new and more efficient rolling stock. We will continue to work with Bradford Council on their ambition to drive regeneration and economic growth by improving rail links to Bradford.

Great British Railways

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will publish (a) an estimated timeline for the creation of Great British Railways and (b) a date by when that organisation is expected to be fully functional.

Wendy Morton: The Government demonstrated its commitment to establishing Great British Railways as the guiding mind for the future of our railways in the Williams Shapps Plan for Rail published May last year. We will be starting extensive and detailed consultation with the industry and other interested stakeholders on the legislative aspects of rail reform soon and necessary legislation will be introduced thereafter.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Foreign Companies: Property

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to introduce a publicly available register for residential property that has foreign ownership.

Paul Scully: Tomorrow, the Government will introduce a register of beneficial ownership, and is continuing to progress the draft Registration of Overseas Entities legislation.

Energy: Prices

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support people who are not covered by the energy price cap because they live in buildings with communal heating systems.

Greg Hands: District or communal heating systems typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which are not covered by the Default Tariff Act. The Government is aware that this can lead to large increases in the bills of some consumers on communal networks and that some consumers are seeing increases larger than would be allowed under the domestic price cap.The measures announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February are intended to cover heat network consumers and we are engaging closely with industry and consumer groups to understand the specific impacts in the heat network sector and continue to assess whether further options are needed to help households through this challenging period.We need to ensure all heat network consumers receive a fair price for their heating. That is why we are committed to legislating within this parliament to regulate the heat networks sector and in December 2021 we announced that Ofgem will take on the role of regulator. We will therefore give Ofgem new powers to regulate prices in this sector as a matter of priority. This will enable equivalent protection for domestic heat network customers as well as ensuring heat network operators are securing good purchasing deals for their consumers. This will mean that consumers are charged a fair rate for heating whilst encouraging investment in heat networks.

Hydrogen: Boilers

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will publish a consultation on the introduction of hydrogen-ready domestic boilers, as committed to in the Government's UK Hydrogen Strategy by the end of 2021.

Greg Hands: The Government intends to consult on the role of hydrogen-ready boilers soon.

Heat Pumps

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many heat pumps were installed in the UK in 2021; what proportion of those pumps were manufactured in the UK; and from which countries were non-UK manufactured heat pumps imported.

Greg Hands: The latest industry figures available to us suggest that 37,000 heat pumps were installed in the UK in 2020, of which the Government estimate that around a third were manufactured in the UK, a little over half were made throughout the rest of Europe and the remainder were imported from outside of Europe. Since publication of that data, several companies have also started manufacturing heat pumps or expanded their existing operations in the UK, such as Mitsubishi, Vaillant and Ideal.

Offshore Industry: Storms

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of storms (a) Dudley, (b) Eunice and (c) Franklin on working patterns in the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of storms (a) Dudley, (b) Eunice and (c) Franklin on (i) workers and (ii) operations in the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Greg Hands: No significant impacts on North Sea oil and gas workers or operations have been reported as a result of recent storms. The UKs offshore oil and gas sector is accustomed to weather events, and offshore installations are designed to remain in production in a wide range of weather conditions. Exposed activities, such as maintenance, may be temporarily paused and logistical operations such as workforce transportation may be affected, but operators remain resilient and plan accordingly.

Electricity: Standing Charges

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on the methodology or assessment used in their decision to increase the daily standing charge element of the April 2022 energy price cap from £0.25 to £0.45 for electricity and from £0.26 to £0.27 for gas.

Greg Hands: Decisions on the level of the price cap are for Ofgem. The Government is in regular contact with Ofgem and industry to discuss the impact of unprecedented global gas prices and will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure consumers are protected.

Listed Buildings: Energy

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to assist homeowners in (a) grade two listed and (b) other protected properties to make upgrades to their homes to be more energy efficient.

Greg Hands: There are a number of Government schemes to support low-income households improve the energy efficiency of their homes, including the £787 million Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the £1.1 billion Home Upgrade Grant. Growing the market for Green Finance is a priority for Government to help support homeowners not eligible for grants with the upfront costs of improvement. The £1.8m Green Home Finance Innovation Fund, which will be completed by March 2022, is a key early step in supporting the lending community to design, develop and pilot green mortgage products for homeowners. A follow-up £10 million Green Home Finance Accelerator programme will launch this summer with the aim of supporting lenders to develop a wider range of green lending products for homeowners. This could include products for owners of harder to treat properties, including historic buildings.

Hydrogen: North West

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on investment in the north west of a commitment to develop a hydrogen village in that region.

Greg Hands: The Government is supporting industry to deliver community trials of 100% hydrogen heating. BEIS and Ofgem received Gas Distribution Network Operators’ outline proposals for the village trial in December 2021. The Government expects that one or more of these will be selected to be developed into detailed proposals. The final decision on where the village trial will take place is expected in 2023 ahead of a trial start date of 2025.

Housing: Heating

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the launch date is for the builder upgrade scheme.

Greg Hands: BEIS does not offer a builder upgrade scheme.

Natural Gas: Energy Supply

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the quantity of gas the UK (a) used, (b) imported and (c) extracted (i) onshore and (ii) offshore in each year from 2010; and what forecast he has made of the amount of gas the UK will (A) use, (B) import and (C) extract (1) onshore and (2) offshore in each year to 2040.

Greg Hands: Gas demand (gas used) is published in Energy Trends Table 4.1, with data up to September 2021. Data for October to December 2021 will be released in this table on 31 March 2022. Gas imports and gas extracted are published in Energy Trends Table 4.2, with data up to November 2021. Data for December 2021 will be released in this table on 24 February 2022. See Energy Trends Table 4.4 for a breakdown of import sources. Gas extracted onshore and offshore is published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics in Table F.2, with data up to 2020. Data for 2021 will be released in this table on 28 July 2022. Forecasts of gas extraction and demand in each year to 2050 are published by the Oil and Gas Authority in their Projections of UK oil and gas production and expenditure. There are not forecasts for imports, or a breakdown for offshore and onshore production.

Energy: Prices

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the increase in energy prices on residents who are on a communal heating plan.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to ensure that domestic residents are not classed as business users under communal heating systems.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to introduce a price cap on communal energy systems for domestic use in the context of the Government's strategy to expand heat networks.

Greg Hands: District or communal heating systems typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which are not covered by the Default Tariff Act. The government is aware that this can lead to large increases in the bills of some consumers on communal networks and that some consumers are seeing increases larger than would be allowed under the domestic price cap. The measures announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February are intended to cover heat network consumers and the Government is engaging closely with industry and consumer groups to understand the specific impacts in the heat network sector and continue to assess whether further options are needed to help households through this challenging period. The Government needs to ensure heat network consumers receive a fair price for their heating. The Government is therefore committed to legislating within this parliament to regulate the heat networks sector and in December 2021, the Government announced that Ofgem will take on the role of regulator and give Ofgem new powers to regulate prices in this sector as a matter of priority. This will enable equivalent protection for domestic heat network customers as well as ensuring heat network operators are securing good purchasing deals for their consumers. This will mean that consumers are charged a fair rate for heating whilst encouraging investment in heat networks.

Electricity Interconnectors: EU Countries

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department is working with European Member States to develop pathfinder projects for multi-purpose interconnectors.

Greg Hands: The Government has been taking several steps to support the development of multi-purpose interconnectors, including as pathfinder projects under the Offshore Transmission Network Review. The Government secured a commitment to create a specific forum for technical discussions, including on multi-purpose interconnectors, in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Discussions are now underway to establish this forum, with a view to agreeing a Memorandum of Understanding that is acceptable to both sides as soon as possible. In September 2021, the Government signed a treaty with Norway on Cross-Border Trade in Electricity and Cooperation on Electricity Interconnection. On 23 February 2022 the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Belgium, agreeing to cooperate in the field of electricity interconnection, including exploring new opportunities like that of the proposed Nautilus Multi-Purpose Interconnector between the UK and Belgium.

Industry: Electrification

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to provide details of the steps it plans to take to support the uptake of electrification by industry, as set out in the Government's Net Zero Strategy.

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Climate Change Committee's 2020 report, Policies for the Sixth Carbon Budget and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to implement the recommendation in that report on the establishment of a funding mechanism to enable electrification in manufacturing.

Greg Hands: Encouraging industry to switch to low carbon fuels such as electricity is a major aspect of the Government’s Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy. The Government recognises that the main barrier to industrial electrification is that electricity is significantly more expensive than gas.The Government already has a range of policies in place to support industrial electrification, including the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund and Industrial Fuel Switching Competition. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme acts as a cross-cutting policy lever to drive market-based abatement, incentivising industries to find the most cost-effective solutions to decarbonise.The Government will publish a Fairness and Affordability Call for Evidence to set out the options for energy levies and obligations to help rebalance electricity and gas prices to support the transition to net zero, with a view to taking decisions in 2022.

Housing: Energy

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a long-term energy efficiency scheme, open to all, to accelerate the decarbonisation of owner-occupied homes.

Greg Hands: The Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out how the Government will decarbonise homes, commercial, industrial, and public sector buildings, as part a path to achieving the Government’s net zero commitment by 2050. Alongside the strategy, the Government announced £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings. This will fund the next three years of investment through schemes including the Home Upgrade Grant scheme and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. This takes the financial commitment to decarbonising buildings in this Parliament to £6.6billion. The Government is prioritising the most vulnerable in society for support and is committed to achieving its statutory fuel poverty target: that as many fuel poverty households as reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of a Band C by 2030’. In addition, the Government is working with lenders to catalyse the market for green finance. This is a priority for Government to help support homeowners not eligible for grants with the upfront costs of improvement.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total capacity is of offshore wind projects in UK waters that are (a) in operation and (b) in construction as of 18 February 2022.

Greg Hands: The UK is a world leader in offshore wind. There is around 11GW of offshore wind currently operational in the UK. A further 8.5GW is currently under construction and is expected to be operational by the mid-2020s. These projects will help the country reach the target of 40GW by 2030.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the cost and quality of servicing renewable heating systems remain affordable and easy to maintain.

Greg Hands: The Government is working closely with industry to ensure that there are sufficient qualified installers to install and service low carbon heating systems. In September 2020 the Government launched a £6 million skills competition to provide training opportunities for the energy-efficiency and low-carbon heating supply chains, including training for heat pump installers. The Government has also recently invested £550 million to significantly expand Skills Bootcamps. The next round of procurement for the delivery of the next wave of Skills Bootcamp, closes for bids on 28 February and includes funding for green skills, like the installing and servicing of heat pumps.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure there are enough engineers being trained to service renewable heating systems and energy efficient homes.

Greg Hands: In September 2020 the Government launched a £6million skills competition to provide training opportunities for the energy-efficiency and low-carbon heating supply chains. These programmes provided free or subsidised courses covering a wide range of skills and certifications across both energy efficiency and clean heat measures for individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector. The Government is also investing £1.6billion through the National Skills Fund in the next three years, on top of the £375million already committed in financial year 2021-22. This includes investment of up to £550million to significantly expand Skills Bootcamps, which provide adults in England with in-demand skills in a range of areas. The Government has recently opened a new round of procurement for delivery of the next wave of Skills Bootcamps, which closes for bids on 28 February. This round includes funding for green skills, which could include the installing and servicing of heat pumps or energy efficiency measures.

Electricity: Exports and Imports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity the UK (a) imported and (b) exported in 2021.

Greg Hands: Data on electricity trade up to the end of September 2021 is available in Energy Trends table 5.6, at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends. Full year figures will be published on 31 March 2022.

Electricity: Exports and Imports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the (a) value was of exports of electricity and (b) cost was of imported electricity in 2021.

Greg Hands: Data on electricity trade up to the end of September 2021 is available in Energy Trends table 5.6, at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trendsFull year figures will be published on 31st March 2022. The value of imports and exports of electricity to and from Great Britain can be calculated using interconnector flow data and electricity wholesale prices available from Elexon (https://www.bmreports.com/bmrs/?q=generation/avghalfhourIC/historic and https://www.bmreports.com/bmrs/?q=balancing/marketindex).

Hydrogen: Liverpool City Region

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to take into account the Mayor of Liverpool City Region's 2021 manifesto commitment to replace methane with hydrogen in the city region’s gas grid by 2035 when assessing areas to progress hydrogen village trials.

Greg Hands: The Government is supporting industry to deliver community trials of 100% hydrogen heating. BEIS and Ofgem received Gas Distribution Network Operators’ outline proposals for the village trial in December 2021. The Government expects that one or more of these will be selected to be developed into detailed proposals. The final decision on where the village trial will take place is expected in 2023 ahead of a trial start date of 2025.

Hydrogen: North West

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that the north west can benefit from a live hydrogen project in a similar way to the north east and its Hydrogen House demonstration site in Winlation.

Greg Hands: The Government is supporting a range of projects that will help to reach our ambition for 5GW low carbon hydrogen production capacity across the UK by 2030. For example, in the North West, the Government are supporting HyNet which has been prioritised for CCUS deployment in the mid-2020s. The scheme has a core focus on industrial capture and CCUS-enabled (blue) hydrogen production. It will deliver low carbon hydrogen to a range of end use projects.

Ofgem: Public Appointments

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what selection criteria are used for appointing the board members of OFGEM.

Greg Hands: When appointing a member to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority board, careful consideration is given by the Chair and Ministers to ensure the Board holds the relevant knowledge and experience to be an effective governance body.

Package Holidays: Coronavirus

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with travel companies on failures to refund passengers who have had their package holiday cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Paul Scully: The Government is working closely with the travel sector and consumer advocacy bodies to assess the impact of cancellations made in light of the Covid-19 outbreak. Ministers and officials from across government meet representatives from the travel industry regularly. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure business are fulfilling their obligations to consumers to exercise their rights for Covid19-related refunds. The Government is working closely with the relevant authorities, including Trading Standards, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the Civil Aviation Authority. The CMA has issued guidance on cancellations and refunds and has been monitoring and investigating the sector, undertaking enforcement action where appropriate. The CMA also has the power to take firms to court if they fail to comply with legislative requirements.

Solar Power: Space Technology

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of space based solar power; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Government recognises that space based solar power has the potential to contribute significantly to our Net Zero ambition. Because of this, BEIS has recently commissioned an independent assessment and report that calculates both benefits and cost of developing space based solar power. The report was published on 27th September 2021 and is available on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/space-based-solar-power-de-risking-the-pathway-to-net-zero.

Measurement

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 116010, what the estimated cost to the public purse is of the assessment of the economic impact on businesses from reintroducing imperial measurements that will be carried out in due course.

Paul Scully: Impact assessments are an established part of the normal civil service policy-making process and the cost of undertaking them is not assessed individually.

Employment Tribunals Service: Data Protection

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Employment Tribunal decisions database protects the data privacy rights of claimants.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the anonymity of claimants on the Employment Tribunal decisions database where requested.

Paul Scully: Personal data is exempt from the provisions of GDPR where it is required to be disclosed by law. Regulation 14(1) of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations requires the Lord Chancellor to maintain a public register of all decisions issued by Employment Tribunals. As a result, the online register of employment tribunal decisions is exempt from the provisions of GDPR. Employment Tribunals may make an order that the identities of specified parties in proceedings should not be disclosed to the public, by anonymisation or otherwise, in any documents entered on the register.

Valneva: Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the Government cancelled its contract with Valneva for their covid-19 vaccine.

George Freeman: As any responsible Government does, we manage our vaccine supply to meet our projected needs and to offer the best protection to those who need it, when they need it. The termination of the supply agreement with Valneva in September 2021 was made for commercial reasons, which remain confidential between Valneva and the Government. Vaccine development is a complex and challenging process, which is why the Government seeks to achieve value for money for the UK taxpayer at all stages. As the pandemic progresses, we continue to assess and refine the vaccines in our portfolio, to ensure we continue to have access to those which offer the best long-term prospects in continuing to support the fight against Covid-19. Thanks to this strategy, the UK currently has 3 approved vaccines in deployment and the UK’s vaccination programme continues to be a success with over 85% of the UK population [over 12s] double vaccinated and over 66% of the UK population [over 12s] have now received their booster or third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what conditions were placed upon (a) Pfizer, (b) Moderna and (c) other covid-19 vaccination providers in relation to the (i) number of vaccinations given and (ii) timescales for delivery; and what penalties or incentives were put in place in connection with those matters.

George Freeman: All contracts agreed between the Government and vaccine developers have been published on Contracts Finder. Parts of these contracts have been redacted as they are commercially sensitive and so cannot be disclosed at this time.

Energy: Costs

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs for consumers across the UK.

Greg Hands: On 3 February, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of support worth £9.1 billion to help domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills. This includes a £150 non-repayable Council Tax rebate in April 2022 to all households in Council Tax Bands A-D, and £144 million of discretionary funding for local authorities to support those not eligible for the Council Tax rebate. To spread the cost of this year’s energy price shock over time, from October 2022 the Government will provide funding to all energy suppliers for them to pass a £200 reduction on to domestic electricity customers’ bills. This will be recouped through energy bills over five years from 2023. Our exposure to volatile global gas prices underscores the importance of the Government’s plan to build a strong, home-grown renewable energy sector to further reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the most effective way of permanently reducing the energy bills by reducing the amount of energy required to heat the home. It can also tackle fuel poverty in the long term. There are a number of schemes specifically targeting low income and fuel poor households to enable them to improve their energy efficiency including the Energy Company Obligation (‘ECO’) and Sustainable Warmth.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether feed-in-tariff payments for solar panels will increase in alignment with the increase in energy prices.

Greg Hands: Support under the Feed in Tariff scheme is not related to the retail price of electricity. The methodology used to set the tariffs considers the technology costs and electricity generation expectations rather than the retail price of electricity. The scheme rewards generation, provides a guaranteed price and market for exports as well as savings on imports.

British Gas: Prices

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will hold discussions with representatives of British Gas on the effect of the increase in energy tariffs on customers with pre-payment meters (a) with and (b) without pre-paid credit on their pre-payment meter.

Greg Hands: The Government is in regular contact with industry to discuss the impact of unprecedented global gas prices and will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure consumers are protected. Ofgem has robust rules in place to protect Prepayment meter customers. In December 2020, Ofgem introduced Licence Conditions that require energy suppliers to provide extra support for customers using prepayment meters. These include an obligation on suppliers to make emergency and friendly-hours credit available to all pre-payment meter customers. Where a supplier identifies that a prepayment customer is in a vulnerable situation, including where a customer is self-disconnecting or self-rationing their supply, they must offer additional support credit. When assessing how a customer will repay any credit offered, suppliers must also consider their ability to pay.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Prices

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing support for domestic users of liquified petroleum gas in the context of increases in market prices.

Greg Hands: The price of liquified petroleum gas is affected by a range of factors, including crude oil prices, refinery capacity, stock levels, and distribution costs. Seasonal factors also play a role. The increases to wholesale price of liquified petroleum gas compared to crude tend to occur during the winter months. Consumers of liquified petroleum gas will be eligible for the £200 energy rebate as long as they are also domestic electricity customers. Financial support also remains available for liquified petroleum gas customers with energy bills, if eligible, through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment schemes.

Renewable Energy: Smart Export Guarantee

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has plans to increase the export tariff for renewable energy under the SEG scheme at the same rate as the rise in the energy price cap; and what assessment he has made of the effect on small-scale renewable electricity generation in the event that the export tariff is not increased in that way.

Greg Hands: The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a market led mechanism, to help level the playing field for small-scale low-carbon generation. It provides a route to market for any excess energy exported to the grid following closure of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme. To enable the SEG to be market based and encourage innovation, one of the key features is to allow suppliers to set both the tariff levels and structure. The Department believes the market has responded positively within the SEG’s first reporting period but will continue to monitor for signs of price competitiveness and innovation.

Energy: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of the energy provisions in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Greg Hands: The agreement on energy in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is mutually beneficial to the UK and the EU in helping achieve their respective climate change ambitions, making energy more affordable for consumers and in supporting security of supply. The Specialised Committee on Energy oversees the majority of the provisions agreed between the UK and EU in the Energy Title and met for the first time in July 2021; the agenda and minutes of the meeting can be found here: gov.uk. The UK is pressing the EU for a further meeting of the Specialised Committee on Energy as the Government would like to see the full implementation of the Energy Title as a matter of priority.

Electricity Interconnectors

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to create a coordination group to facilitate the development of pathfinder projects for multi-purpose interconnectors.

Greg Hands: The Offshore Transmission Network Review is working with multi-purpose interconnectors, offshore wind developers and the onshore transmission owner to facilitate the development of pathfinder projects, including proactively exploring opportunities to coordinate with others in the same region where possible.

UK Emissions Trading Scheme

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to consult on aligning the UK Emissions Trading Scheme with a net zero consistent trajectory as set out in the Government's Net Zero Strategy.

Greg Hands: The UK Government and Devolved Administrations have committed to reviewing and consulting on the UK ETS’s cap and setting a trajectory for it that is consistent with the Government’s emissions reduction commitments. The Government recognises that the UK ETS will play a key role in meeting net zero by 2050 and has set out its intention to align the cap with a net zero trajectory by no later than January 2024. As stated in the Net Zero Strategy, the UK ETS Authority will consult in the coming months on the trajectory for the scheme’s cap. The Government acknowledges both the updated advice of the Climate Change Committee, issued in June 2021, and the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy.

Parental Leave: Pay

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on the introduction of paid neonatal leave before the end of this Parliament.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to bringing forward legislative proposals on the introduction of paid neonatal leave, to support those new mothers and fathers who need it during some of the most stressful days of their lives. The Government will bring forward these reforms to our employment framework when Parliamentary time allows.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with representatives from energy suppliers to ensure eligible customers are still able to access the warm home discount once their previous energy supplier has ceased trading.

Greg Hands: When an energy supplier leaves the market, in almost all cases, Ofgem appoints a Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) to take over its customers. SoLRs are not obliged to provide the Warm Home Discount to transferred customers; however, all SoLRs have honoured this obligation in the past and the Government would expect that any future SoLRs would continue to honour these obligations. The Warm Home Discount is one of the factors that Ofgem considers when appointing a SoLR. In rare cases, the Special Administration Regime (SAR) process may be a more appropriate option to protect customers of large energy suppliers. Warm Home Discount recipients are unaffected during the SAR process. The Government concluded a consultation on the future scheme last summer. Under the proposals, the vast majority of households would receive their rebates automatically, without having to apply. This would make it easier for SoLRs to make the Warm Home Discount rebate payments to newly transferred customers. BEIS will publish the Government’s response to the consultation in the spring, with the reforms coming into force from the 2022/23 scheme year.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many eligible customers (a) have and (b) have not been able to access the warm home discount after being moved to a new energy supplier after their previous energy supplier ceased trading.

Greg Hands: When an energy supplier leaves the market, in almost all cases, Ofgem appoints a Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) to take over its customers. SoLRs are not obliged to provide the Warm Home Discount to transferred customers; however, all SoLRs have honoured this obligation in the past and the Government would expect that any future SoLRs would continue to honour these obligations. In rare cases, the Special Administration Regime (SAR) process may be a more appropriate option to protect customers of large energy suppliers. Warm Home Discount recipients are unaffected during the SAR process.  The Government concluded a consultation on the future scheme last summer. Under the proposals, the vast majority of households would receive their rebates automatically, without having to apply. This would make it easier for SoLRs to make the Warm Home Discount rebate payments to newly transferred customers. BEIS will publish the Government’s response to the consultation in the spring, with the reforms coming into force from the 2022/23 scheme year.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Repayments

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of small businesses to repay Bounce Back Loans.

Paul Scully: The Government has already taken action to give small businesses the space and flexibility to repay their bounce back loans. Under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), no repayments are due from the borrower for the first 12 months of the loan. The Government also covers the first 12 months of interest payments charged to the business by the lender. In order to give businesses further support, the Government introduced the “Pay as You Grow” (PAYG) measures, which allow individual businesses to tailor their repayments to their individual circumstances. Under these measures, the lenders are required to give all businesses that borrowed under the BBLS the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years, as well as the option to move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months, or to pause their repayments entirely for up to six months.

Energy: Meters

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with OFGEM on ensuring customer satisfaction with smart meter installations.

Greg Hands: The Department works closely with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to monitor consumer experience of smart meters. The smart meter rollout has high levels of consumer satisfaction; evidence shows that nearly 8 in 10 consumers are satisfied with the smart meter installation process. Research from Ofgem has found that smart meter-related complaints make up a very small proportion of total complaints to energy suppliers, relative to the level of smart meter take-up across Great Britain.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Media

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on Ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.

George Freeman: There has been no money spent externally on producing social media and graphics for use on ministerial social media accounts since January 2020. There has been one full time Ministerial Content Producer employed by the department since July 2021, and creating content for ministerial channels is also part of three other Content Producer's roles. All ministerial content created is to promote departmental policy and sharing through Ministerial accounts increases our audience reach wider than departmental accounts.

Power Failures

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the location and frequency of power cuts in England; and whether that information is used to inform investment priorities in power infrastructure.

Greg Hands: Distribution Network Operators are obligated under their license conditions to plan and develop their distribution systems to meet a minimum reliability standard, incentivising investment in resilience measures. Ofgem monitors performance to ensure operators meet their obligations and can take enforcement action against those who fail to meet them.

Visas: EU Countries

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with EU representatives on the 90 in 180 day rule on UK citizens working in the EU.

Paul Scully: UK nationals are able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period, for a limited number of business-related activities, as well as for tourism. UK nationals who plan to stay longer than 90 in 180 days or are carrying out activities that are not exempt from a Member State’s visa or work permit requirements, may need a visa, work permit or other documentation. Visa and work permit arrangements are set by individual EU Member States. The Government will continue to engage with the EU, in line with the structures established by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which allow for both Parties to raise issues of concern about compliance with that agreement.

Park Homes: Energy Supply

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the exclusion of the energy reseller arrangements from the energy price cap on mobile park homeowners.

Greg Hands: The energy price cap on standard and default domestic supply tariffs was put in place in response to the problem of the ‘loyalty penalty’ as identified by the Competition and Markets Authority’s energy market investigation. The maximum price set by Ofgem for resupplying gas or electricity which has already been bought from an authorised supplier, exists to protect people such as those who are residents of mobile park homes and buy their fuel from the park owner.

Zero Hours Contracts: Females

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the causes of women of colour being more likely than white men and women to be employed on zero-hours contracts.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain and ensuring that equality and opportunity is available for all. Overall, individuals on zero-hours contracts represent a very small proportion of the workforce – just 3%. For this small group, this may be the type of contract which works best for them. The majority of people (62%) on zero-hours contracts say that they do not want more hours. Zero-hours contracts remain an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, for both employers where there is not a constant demand for staff and for individuals who may need to balance work around other commitments such as childcare and study.

Ofgem: Public Appointments

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department holds with the devolved (a) legislatures and (b) Administrations relating to the appointment of board members of OFGEM.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what role devolved (a) legislatures and (b) Administrations have in regard to the appointment of board members of OFGEM.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department has received from the Scottish Government regarding the appointment of board members of OFGEM.

Greg Hands: Ofgem is the British energy regulator and so this remains a reserved matter. The Chair and non-executive members of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority are appointed by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Ofgem: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether one of the board members of OFGEM has dedicated responsibility for regulatory matters relating to Scotland.

Greg Hands: This is a matter for the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority board. The Government is not aware that any member has a particular focus for regulatory matters relating to Scotland.

Energy: Standing Charges

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to (a) reduce or (b) abolish standing charges on household power bills.

Greg Hands: The setting of tariffs is a commercial decision for energy suppliers. Since 2016, suppliers have been able to offer a greater range of tariffs to accommodate different customer needs, including tariffs with a low or even zero standing charge. The payment of a standing charge reflects the fixed costs of providing and maintaining supply, regardless of energy usage, including meter rental, meter readings, accounting and billing and maintenance of the energy network. Tariffs with a low or zero standing charge attract a much higher unit rate to ensure these fixed supply costs are met.

Fuel Poverty

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, wat steps he will take to help tackle mortality caused by fuel poverty.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises the link between fuel poverty and ill health. Energy efficiency improvements remain the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, and support for low income and vulnerable households is available through schemes such as the Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation. Financial support for energy bills is available nationally through the Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment. In addition, a new package of support to help households with their energy bills was announced on the 3 February. This includes a £200 discount on household energy bills this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain; a £150 non-repayable rebate on Council Tax bills for all households in Council Tax Bands A-D in England; and an additional £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

Energy: Prices

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a social energy tariff on household energy bills.

Greg Hands: The Government replaced Social Tariffs in the energy sector with the Warm Home Discount Scheme from 2011. The Warm Home Discount scheme provides £140 in data matched, targeted support and from 2022/23 this will provide £150 to an extra 780,000 households, with around 2.7million households to receive support every year. The Government is very aware of the difficulties that consumers have experienced as a result of the rise in energy prices. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new package of support to help households with their energy bills on 3 February. This includes a £200 discount on household energy bills this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain; a £150 non-repayable rebate on Council Tax bills for all households in Council Tax Bands A-D in England; and an additional £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

Energy: Hospitality Industry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) financial and (b) other steps his Department has taken to support hospitality businesses in (i) Coventry North East and (ii) Coventry to meet rising energy costs.

Paul Scully: We recognise the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes and Ofgem and the Government are in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect businesses. The Department and I continue to speak regularly with representatives from across the hospitality sector so that we can understand the challenges they face and represent their interests across Government.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry North East constituency that are employed in the automotive industry.

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help support the growth of the automotive sector in the West Midlands.

Lee Rowley: Latest available data from the Business Registers and Employment Survey, which is part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows that in 2020 there were 53,000 people employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in the West Midlands region. Of those 1,750 were in the North East Coventry constituency and 5,000 in the South Coventry constituency. Similarly, the wholesale, retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry employed 1,500 people in each of the constituencies in 2020. The Government remains fully committed to working in partnership with industry to support the automotive sector’s transition to zero emission vehicles. As part of the Net Zero Strategy, in October 2021, Government announced a further £350m to be delivered through the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next three years to support development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain here in the UK. This will create thousands of well-paid green jobs in our industrial heartlands, including the West Midlands.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has assessed the merits of mandating large asset managers sign up the FRC’s New Stewardship Code as part of their responsibilities to their fiduciaries.

Paul Scully: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires that asset managers disclose clearly the nature of their commitment to the Financial Reporting Council’s UK Stewardship Code. Where an asset manager chooses not to follow the Code, it must disclose its alternative investment strategy. The FRC continues to gather evidence of the quality of stewardship practice and reporting under the revised Stewardship Code introduced in 2020. The FRC and the FCA are due to review the regulatory framework for effective stewardship formally in 2023, including the operation of the revised Code.

Northern Ireland Office

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry: Costs

Johnny Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost was of the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday; and if he will provide a breakdown of the costs.

Conor Burns: The total cost of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry to the end of May 2010 is £191.2 million. These are the publicly available figures that were published following the completion of the inquiry and publication of the report in 2010.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Johnny Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what (a) meetings, (b) discussions, (c) correspondence and (d) other communications took place between Baron Saville of Newdigate and former Prime Minister Blair (i) before and (ii) during the existence of the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday.

Conor Burns: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Screening

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the total cost to the public purse of (a) lateral flow and (b) PCR covid-19 tests in the last twelve months.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Lung Cancer: Screening

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date will the lung screening pilots in England recommence following their suspension in March 2020.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Lung Cancer: Screening

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timeline is for approval of the national lung cancer screening programme following its suspension in March 2020 due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the chief (a) medical officer and (b) scientific officer have made of the potential risks of ending (i) mandatory self-isolation periods, (ii) the provision of NHS testing for covid-19 and (iii) other public health measures from 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost of one seven day test covid-19 testing kit was in the last six months for which data is available.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Midwives: Labour Turnover

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) retention and (b) recruitment of midwives in (i) London and (ii) England.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will respond to Question 107516 tabled on 18 January 2022 by the hon. Member for Llanelli on Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome in the NHS.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Dialysis Machines

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2021 to Question 62570, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Renal Services Transformation Programme against its aim of all units providing home therapies to at least 20 per cent of patients.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Dialysis Machines

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of rising fuel prices on the gas and energy bills of people receiving dialysis treatment at home.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Dialysis Machines

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the annual cost to the NHS per patient for (a) in-centre haemodialysis, (b) home haemodialysis, and (c) home peritoneal dialysis.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 2 November 2021 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay, and subsequent emails of 20 December 2021 and 27 January 2022 on a constituent, ref JB34756.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the process accessing covid-19 lateral flow test packs changed from collection from pharmacies to a digitally registered collection code based system; who stores the personal data collected at registration for a test pack collection code; for what purposes that data is collected; and what equality impact assessment his Department conducted on the rollout of a digitally registered collection code based system.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Screening

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate supply of radiation material for cancer scans.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cancer scans have been cancelled as a result of a shortage of radioactive materials since 2020.

Maria Caulfield: Departmental officials regularly engage with major suppliers of radiopharmaceuticals and other stakeholders to ensure the continuity of supply for patients. The data requested on the number of cancer scans which have been cancelled is not collected centrally.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish all the data it holds on (a) waiting (i) lists and (ii) times for gender identity services in England and (b) suicide rates among those waiting for gender identity services in the last three years.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested on waiting times is not currently available in the format requested. Gender clinics currently collate and evaluate data at a local level.

Health Services: LGBT People

Joanna Cherry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which stakeholder groups the NHS England National Advisor for LGBT Health has engaged with in the last six months.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services: Ethnic Groups

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on the rollout of the Patient and Carers Race Equalities Framework for mental health services; and what his timeline is for the completion of that rollout.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help prevent people from contracting long covid when asymptomatic testing for covid-19 is no longer available.

Maria Caulfield: As is common with most other respiratory illnesses, we continue to advise those who are unwell to limit contact with others. We will issue guidance on behaviours that will reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 for the public and businesses, in line with public health advice, which will help to prevent longer term symptoms of the virus. The booster and vaccination campaign will provide additional protection against severe disease, especially amongst older and more vulnerable populations. We are also deploying antiviral and monoclonal antibody free testing for National Health Service staff, symptomatic social care staff and at-risk groups.

NHS: Dental Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental practices have agreed to substitute up to 10 per cent of their regular NHS contract value in order to undertake transformational commissioning work by county.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing training for registered medical practitioners offering bridging hormones to transgender patients while those patients wait for NHS specialist services.

Maria Caulfield: No formal assessment has been made.

Coronavirus: Screening

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 17 November 2021 for specified minutes, notes, and correspondence relating to Government contracts awarded to Randox Laboratories Ltd, HC1072, laid before the House on 3 February 2022, Ref 16, page 26, if he will publish the 15 different companies that Public Health England engaged with on covid-19 testing.

Maggie Throup: Between January and February 2020, Public Health England (PHE) was approached by a range of diagnostic kit manufacturing companies with regards to market entry to undertake COVID-19 testing. PHE invited manufacturers with market-ready assay kits to supply details of their diagnostics for evaluation, with a signed contract agreeing to the evaluation, if selected. The 15 companies we engaged with during this phase were as follows:- Altona;- AusDiagnostics;- Genetic Signatures;- PrimerDesign-Novacyt;- Roche (TIB);- Seegene-Mast;- BGI;- Diagnostics for the Real World;- Elitech Group;- Genefirst;- Pro-Lab-Certest;- Qiagen;- Randox;- Shanghai ZJ Bio-tech_ Liferiver; and- Genetic PCR Solns_Bioconnections.

Abortion

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) resilience of abortion services and (b) timely access to care in the event that (i) there are future pressures on health services as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and (ii) permissions that allow for telemedical abortion care ended.

Maggie Throup: The Department is aware that there are a number of pressures on abortion services. We continue to work closely with the sector to ensure women are able to access abortion services.We are developing a new Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy to improve reproductive health outcomes and wellbeing. The Strategy will include a focus on improving information and access to contraception, to support women to make informed choices about their reproductive health.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccination against (a) catching (b) cases of severe illness deriving from, and (c) hospitalisations arising from the Omicron covid-19 variant.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes weekly COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports, including the latest evidence on vaccine effectiveness against different outcomes, comparing rates of disease in vaccinated individuals to rates in unvaccinated individuals. The most recent assessment published on 17 February 2022 states that after two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, effectiveness against infection of the Omicron variant, starts at approximately 50% then reduces to almost no effect from 20 weeks after the second dose. After a booster dose with an mRNA vaccine, this increases to 60 to 70% then wanes to approximately 30% by 15 weeks and over after vaccination.The UKHSA uses hospitalisation as an indicator of severe diseases. Two doses of either AstraZeneca vaccine was associated with a vaccine effectiveness of approximately 35% against hospitalisation following infection with the Omicron variant, after 25 weeks and over. After a booster dose with an mRNA vaccine, this increases to approximately 80 to 90%.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make covid-19 vaccinations available for children under the age of 12.

Maggie Throup: On 22 December 2021 the Joint Committee on Vaccination Immunisation (JCVI) advised that children aged five to 11 years old in a clinical risk group or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed, should be offered two 10 micrograms doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.On 16 February 2022, the JCVI advised a non-urgent offer of two 10 microgram doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children aged five to 11 years old who are not in a clinical risk group. Vaccinations to this cohort will begin in April.COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of five years old are still under development and have not been authorised for use in the United Kingdom by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department is giving to Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure sufficient covid-19 vaccine centres are located around the county to meet demand and without overcrowding.

Maggie Throup: Guidance was supplied to all clinical commissioning groups (CCG), including Kent and Medway CCG, on 13 December in 2021 in response to the national expansion of the COVID-19 booster programme. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/12/C1488-letter-next-steps-for-the-nhs-covid-19-vaccine-deployment.pdfThis guidance highlighted the priority for all CCGs to ensure additional capacity to maximise throughput and efficiency at existing sites, opening additional vaccination sites and extending opening times. NHS England and NHS Improvement provided 71 vaccination sites in Kent and Medway in mid-December 2021. A static vaccination site opened in Sovereign Way Car Park, Tonbridge from 1 December 2021 and a second mobile trailer for the Bat and Ball area in Sevenoaks opened in early February 2022. Community pharmacy provision was increased by 50% in Kent and Medway.As of 13 February 2022, over 1.4 million people in Kent and Medway CCG have received their first dose, over 1.2 million people have received their second dose, and over one million people aged 18 years old and over have received either their booster, third primary dose or fourth dose as a booster.

Food: Advertising

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a ban on the promotion of unhealthy food and junk food advertising (a) in shops, (b) online and (c) on TV.

Maggie Throup: In December 2020, we confirmed that we will legislate to restrict promotions by location and volume price of foods high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) in stores and online. Restrictions will apply to medium and large businesses with 50 or more employees. The regulations are set to come into force in October 2022. In June 2021 we confirmed that we will introduce a 9pm watershed on TV and United Kingdom on demand programme services (ODPS) for advertisements of identifiable HFSS products and a restriction of paid-for advertising of identifiable HFSS products online and on non-UK ODPS. The restrictions will not apply to small and medium-sized enterprise advertisers. Subject to the passage of the Health and Care Bill, restrictions are due to come into force on 1 January 2023.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing free covid-19 testing for people who are (a) elderly, (b) clinically vulnerable and (c) immunosuppressed.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, there will be some limited symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. We will set out further details on eligible groups in due course.

Coronavirus: Schools

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on provision of free covid-19 testing for teachers and support staff working with children with underlying health conditions after 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: The Government is removing the guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing. Staff and secondary age students and above in special schools, alternative provision, Special Educational Needs/Alternative Provision units within schools and colleges and open and secure children’s homes, are advised to continue regular twice weekly testing until the end of March 2022. From 1 April 2022, there will be limited symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. We will set out further details on eligible groups in due course.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to protect (a) people and (b) employers if levels of covid-19 (a) infection and (b) mortality rise.

Maggie Throup: The Government will retain surveillance to monitor the virus, understand its evolution and identify changes in characteristics and respond accordingly to protect the population if levels of infection and mortality rise. We aim to manage such risks through more routine public health interventions.The current guidance for employers will be available until 1 April 2022, offering advice on how to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. The Government will work with employers to ensure that new guidance continues to support them to manage the risk of COVID-19 in workplaces.

Dyspraxia: Health Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in West Yorkshire were referred by their GP for a dyspraxia assessment in each of the last ten years; how many and what proportion of those assessments resulted in a diagnosis of dyspraxia; and what the average length of time was between GP referral and diagnosis in that period.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to dyspraxia (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment in each region of the UK for each of the last ten years.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) children and (b) adults have been diagnosed with dyspraxia in each region of England in each of the last ten years.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) children and (b) adults who have dyspraxia but who have not been (i) diagnosed and (ii) able to access treatment in each of the last ten years.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on changes to self-isolation requirements for individuals testing positive for covid-19.

Maggie Throup: The Government is working with the Welsh Government and devolved administrations to coordinate an approach to COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. There are ongoing discussions across multiple Government departments.

Noise: Pollution

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of any change in the proportion of the population exposed to road, rail and air transport noise of (a) 65dB(A) or more during the daytime and (b) 55dB(A) during the night-time, as set out in the Public Health Outcomes Framework.

Maggie Throup: The Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) includes two indicators which show the percentage of the population exposed to road, rail and air transport noise above a certain level. Indicator B14b shows the percentage of the population exposed to noise levels of 65 dB(A) or more during the daytime. Indicator B14b shows the percentage of the population exposed to noise levels of 55 dB(A) or more during the night-time. The PHOF online tool includes data for three assessment years: 2016, 2011 and 2006/7. This data shows that the percentage of the population exposed to 65 dB(A) or more during the daytime, changed from 5.2% in 2011 to 5.5% in 2016. The percentage of the population exposed to 55 dB(A) or more during the night-time changed from 8% in 2011 to 8.5% in 2016.Due to differences in the definitions of major roads, railways and airports and in modelling methodologies between the assessment years, comparisons should be interpreted with caution.

Abortion: Telemedicine

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make the permission allowing telemedical abortion services permanent.

Maggie Throup: There are no plans to make this measure permanent. The temporary approval which enabled home use of both pills for early medical abortion was in response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the success of the vaccination and booster programme, face to face abortion services will return by 29 August 2022. A short-term extension of the temporary approval has been made to enable a safe and reliable return to these arrangements.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the guidance is on receiving the covid-19 booster for people who have received one or both doses of the covid-19 vaccine abroad.

Maggie Throup: The offer of COVID-19 booster vaccination remains open for everyone including those who received one or both doses of the vaccine abroad. The minimum dosage interval for booster doses is three months from a final primary dose. For those requiring one or more United Kingdom doses, the three-month interval is taken from the final ‘additional’ dose given in the UK. Doses do not have to be recorded in the NHS App in order to access vaccination. The UK Health Security Agency’s guidance sets out eligibility for those vaccinated overseas and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccinations-received-overseasThe National Health Service has developed a service record to vaccinations received overseas. This service is available to individuals that have been vaccinated with specific vaccines anywhere in the world and reside in England. Face-to-face appointments at a specific vaccination centre can be booked to update patient record within the National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS). If an individual has their overseas vaccine recorded in NIMS, they will automatically be called for a booster dose when eligible. Individuals whose vaccinations are not recorded in NIMS in England will be unable to book an appointment for a booster vaccination through the National Booking System. However, these individuals can access a booster dose at a walk-in centre.

Community Diagnostic Centres

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing new community diagnostic centres.

Edward Argar: We have committed £2.3 billion to open up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in England by March 2025. To date, existing CDCs have delivered over 550,000 additional tests and scans, with approximately a further nine million anticipated by 2025.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of removing prescription charges.

Edward Argar: We have made no assessment. Approximately 89% of prescriptions in England are already dispensed free of charge and arrangements are in place to help those most in need.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total value is of unused personal protective equipment procured by his Department from (a) Worldlink Resources Ltd and (b) Meller Designs Ltd during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether he has taken steps to recoup money paid to those suppliers.

Edward Argar: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Nutrition: Obesity

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether products which are a source of protein will be subject to the upcoming restrictions on products that are high in fat, sugar and salt; and how the Government will define which products are a source of protein within the Obesity Strategy.

Maggie Throup: For restrictions on advertising and promotions of high fat, salt or sugar products, there will be a two-stage process to define what products are captured by the restrictions. This two-stage process ensures the restrictions apply to the products of most concern to childhood obesity whilst allowing the healthier products within categories to be excluded. As part of this process, the Government is using the 2004/05 Nutrient Profiling Model, as it is based on scientific evidence and provides an overall assessment of the nutritional content of products considered by balancing beneficial nutrients including fruit, vegetables and nuts, fibre and protein content against components of food that children should eat less of, such as saturated fat, sugar, salt, and calories.

Obesity: Children

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding in the National Child Measurement Programme for England in the 2020-21 school year that children living in the most deprived areas were more than twice as likely to be obese than those living in the least deprived areas, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of her Department's policies on child obesity.

Maggie Throup: We are delivering a programme to create a healthier environment to help children and adults achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Over £4.4 million was allocated to 11 local authorities to deliver child and family weight management services, for children identified as overweight or living with obesity through the National Child Measurement Programme.

Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February to Question 112640 on Tobacco: Mortality Rates, for what reason he has made no formal assessment of the adverse health risks of snus.

Maggie Throup: The Department has not undertaken its own formal review of snus as it is banned in the United Kingdom and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the market.

Electronic Cigarettes: Advertising

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the recommendation from the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) to regulate the branding and packaging of e-cigarette products to ensure that they do not inadvertently appeal to non-smokers or young people.

Maggie Throup: We are currently assessing the regulations on the branding and packaging of e-cigarette products to ensure that they do not inadvertently appeal to non-smokers or young people. A range of regulatory proposals, including related to e-cigarettes, are being considering as part of the Independent Review on Tobacco Control and for the Tobacco Control Plan.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on diabetics and other clinically vulnerable people of all age groups of the proposed removal of the covid-19 self-isolation requirement in advance of the 24 March 2022 expiry date; and what effect that assessment will have on the final decision on whether to lift the self-isolation requirement before 24 March 2022.

Maggie Throup: In line with the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Department must consider the impact of policy decisions on protected groups when changes to legislation are made. In the case of the self-isolation regulations, this was done alongside public health considerations ahead of the decision to remove these regulations.From 24 February 2022, those who test positive for COVID-19 are no longer legally required to self-isolate. However, individuals with any of the main symptoms or a positive test result are advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people.The Government’s objective is to enable COVID-19 to be managed in a similar way to other respiratory illnesses, while minimising mortality and retaining the ability to respond if a new and more dangerous variant emerges. This is due to the success of the vaccination programme and pharmaceutical tools available to treat people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Novavax covid-19 vaccine will start to be rolled out in the UK.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans for the Nuvaxovid vaccine to be available and distributed for use in the UK for the protection against covid-19.

Maggie Throup: On 3 February 2022, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised Nuvaxovid (Novavax) for individuals over the age of 18 years old in the United Kingdom in line with official recommendations.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will determine the potential for its use in the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme as the evidence becomes available in due course. Once the JCVI has considered the evidence, it will make an official recommendation to the Government.

Coronavirus: Underground Railways

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department incurred financial cost in obtaining the SAGE report, Academics: Modelling the factors that influence exposure to SARS-CoV-2 on a subway train carriage, 22 July 2021.

Maggie Throup: No financial costs were incurred in obtaining this report. The report was produced by the University of Leeds, with the Department for Transport, supported by £1.7 million from the UK Research and Innovation, through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Coronavirus: Screening

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of ending free of charge covid-19 lateral flow tests on the position of people with long-term health conditions.

Maggie Throup: We will make free symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. Details on the eligible groups will be made available in due course. We will continue to review the impact of these policies on people with long-term health conditions.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that PCR test results for covid-19 are only given in a clinical context to take into account a patient's medical history.

Maggie Throup: The National Health Service provides clinical context for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests taken in healthcare settings. However, the purpose of PCR testing in the wider population is to identify positive cases for public health reasons and to reduce transmission. For pillar 2 PCR tests used for possible antiviral prescribing, an NHS clinical team will make an assessment of the patients’ medical history and clinical presentation to prescribe appropriate treatment.

Protective Clothing: Xinjiang

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any suppliers of PPE items procured by the Government use factories based in Xinjiang as part of their supply chain.

Edward Argar: The United Kingdom did not purchase personal protective equipment made in factories in Xinjiang.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what covid-19 testing provision and other measures his Department is keeping in place to protect clinically vulnerable people as part of plans to end the self-isolation requirement and other remaining coronavirus regulations.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, there will be limited symptomatic testing available for a number of at-risk groups. We will set out further details on eligible groups in due course. The UK Health Security Agency will continue to communicate to those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 about available clinical interventions, including vaccination and treatments and public health advice on how to reduce risk.Those at highest risk of developing severe COVID-19 can now access antivirals if they test positive. Priority polymerase chain reaction tests have been sent to approximately 1.3 million people to support access to treatments.

Unispace Global: Protective Clothing

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department paid £600 million to Unispace Global Ltd for the purchase of personal protective equipment in 2020.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Unispace Global Ltd met its contractual obligations for providing adequate personal protective equipment under the contractual terms set by his Department in 2020.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any Government department has taken steps to investigate why payments made to Unispace Global Ltd were not reported by that company in its financial accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: The Department paid £603 million to Unispace Global Ltd for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020. Unispace Global Ltd partially met its contractual obligations, supplying the National Health Service with £484 million items of PPE from April 2020 till December 2021. We are working with the company on a commercial resolution for the remainder of the contract. Issues concerning the accuracy of filed financial accounts are a matter for Companies House.

Care Workers: Coronavirus

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to compensate care workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the Government policy on mandatory vaccinations during the covid-19 outbreak.

Edward Argar: The regulations to make vaccination a condition of entry in all Care Quality Commission-regulated care homes were approved by Parliament on 22 July 2021 and came into force on 11 November 2021. Employers who ensured that vaccinated staff were deployed, unless exempt, were complying with the law at the time. The Government will therefore not offer compensation to unvaccinated staff who were dismissed or chose to leave the workforce.

Coronavirus: Plymouth

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of covid-19 rapid lateral flow tests that have been issued in the Plymouth City Council local authority area to date.

Maggie Throup: As of 20 February 2022, 7.53 million lateral flow tests have been issued to date in Plymouth City Council Local Authority area through GOV.UK and Pharmacy Collect.

Coronavirus: South West Devon

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many rapid lateral flow covid-19 tests have been issued in (a) Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport constituency, (b) Plymouth Moor View constituency and (c) South West Devon constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Maggie Throup: This information is not held in the format requested as data is not collected by Parliamentary constituency.

Advisory Committee On Borderline Substances: Annual Reports

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made on the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances' 2021 annual report.

Edward Argar: The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances is independent of Government. The Committee does not publish a separate annual report. The Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees sets out the information which should be published. These are the Committee’s purpose and activities, its membership and members’ interests and a financial statement. With the exception of a financial statement, these are published in the minutes of its meetings, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/advisory-committee-on-borderline-substancesNo financial statement is published because there is negligible financial activity to report. Members are not paid any fees or honoraria for their services and are entitled to claim repayment of expenses.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make his policy to guarantee access to free covid-19 tests as part of the Government's proposals to remove all covid-19 restrictions.

Maggie Throup: At the end of March 2022, free access to lateral flow device tests for the general public in England from GOV.UK and pharmacies will end. From April, we expect that a private market will develop, allowing people who wish to continue testing to do so.From 1 April, there will be some limited symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. We will set out further details on eligible groups in due course.

Coronavirus Act 2020

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government intends to repeal the Coronavirus Act 2020 in its entirety.

Maggie Throup: On 21 February 2022, the Government announced the intention to expire all remaining non-devolved temporary provisions from the Coronavirus Act 2020. Of the 20 remaining non-devolved temporary provisions, 16 will automatically expire on 24 March 2022. The remaining four provisions will be expired within six months and the powers transferred into alternative permanent legislation. However, there are also a number of permanent provisions within the Act, which would require primary legislation to repeal. The Government is committed to repealing unnecessary provisions as soon as possible and will look for opportunities to do so as the legislative programme proceeds.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Health Services

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has confirmed the proposed themes for cardiac networks in England; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: A national cardiovascular programme has been established supported by the development of local cardiac networks. These networks take an evidenced-based approach to improvement, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation through to end of life care. Cardiac networks have been asked to prioritise supporting their local systems to offer blood pressure checks at existing appointments including vaccine centres, pharmacies, as well as remote monitoring.

Healthy Start Scheme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many online applications to the Healthy Start scheme have been rejected; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Business Services Authority does not collect this data.

Coronavirus: Ivermectin

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the MHRA has not yet decided whether to approve Ivermectin as a treatment for covid-19; and whether the approval process for that treatment differs to that relating to Sotrovimab.

Maggie Throup: For a product to be granted a licensing authorisation, a company must apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for authorisation. The MHRA has not received an application for use of Ivermectin in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. If received, the application will undergo a safety, efficacy and quality review, including consultation with Commission on Human Medicines.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional GPs have been recruited since January 2020.

Maria Caulfield: There were 1,672 more full time equivalent doctors in general practice in December 2021 compared to December 2019. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England. In 2021/22, 4,000 trainees accepted a general practitioner training place - an increase from 2,671 in 2014.

General Practitioners

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to increase the number of in-person GP appointments.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England and NHS Improvement have been clear that general practitioner (GP) practices must provide face to face appointments, alongside remote consultations. Patients’ input into consultation type should be sought and practices should respect preferences for face to face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary, such as the presence of COVID-19 symptoms. In October 2021, with NHS England and NHS Improvement we set out measures to support general practice over the winter period and made £250 million available for a Winter Access Fund to improve the capacity of general practices, including for providing in-person GP appointments.

Coronavirus: Screening

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the cost of each quality-adjusted life year added to 5 to 11 year old children as a result of offering that cohort a covid-19 vaccination.

Maggie Throup: On 22 December 2021, the Government accepted the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to children aged five to 11 years old who are in a clinical risk group, or who are household contacts of the immunosuppressed. On 16 February 2022, the Government subsequently accepted the JCVI’s advice to offer vaccination of children aged five to 11 years old not in a clinical risk group. However, the size and characteristics of a potential future wave were uncertain at the time of the JCVI’s advice, therefore it was not possible to determine the cost per quality adjusted life years gained.

General Practitioners: Standards

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average wait time is for an in-person GP appointment in (a) Newcastle and (b) England.

Maria Caulfield: Data on waiting times for in-person general practitioner appointments is not held centrally.

Health Services: LGBT People

Joanna Cherry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the selection process was for the NHS England National Adviser for LGBT Health; how long the post holder has been appointed for; what the terms of employment of that post holder are; and what the lines of accountability are for that post holder within (a) the NHS and (b) Government.

Maria Caulfield: The National Adviser for LGBT Health, employed by NHS England, was appointed in 2019 following an open, competitive application and interview process. From 2019 to 2021 the role, function and responsibilities of the National Adviser for LGBT Health was set out in a Memorandum of Understanding, agreed between the Government Equalities Office, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.The National Adviser for LGBT Health has a contract with NHS England which defines the terms of employment. The position is based within the Patient Equalities Team at NHS England and is accountable to the Director for Experience, Participation and Equalities and the Chief Nurse for England. The National Adviser for LGBT Health advises the Government where needed but there are no additional lines of accountability beyond those which exist between NHS England and the Department.

Health Services: LGBT People

Joanna Cherry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the National Advisor for LGBT Health for NHS England's priorities are; and how those priorities contribute to the work of his Department.

Maria Caulfield: The National Adviser is focused on reducing the heath inequalities faced by LGBT people, advising on ways to improve the care LGBT people receive when accessing the National Health Service and public health services and is a visible advocate for LGBT equality within the NHS, providing a voice for LGBT service users within the health and social care system. The National Adviser works to improve healthcare professionals’ awareness of LGBT issues, facilitating better patient care, working with relevant statutory organisations and professional associations to embed LGBT issues into physical and mental health services. The National Adviser’s four priorities are:- Improving data collection and monitoring of sexual orientation, gender identity and rans status across the NHS;- Improving education and training of the NHS workforce to support them to better address LGBT+ health inequalities;- Supporting the NHS to deliver more LGBT+ inclusive services; and- Supporting the NHS to be a more inclusive workplace and to improve the experience of the LGBT+ workforce.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Energy Supply

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what critical infrastructure his Department is responsible for that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.

David T C Davies: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales is not responsible for any critical infrastructure that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.

Veterans: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether former Merchant Navy personnel will be included in the remit of the new Veterans Commissioner for Wales.

Simon Hart: The Veterans Commissioner for Wales will work with all veterans across Wales to enhance support for veterans, as well as scrutinising relevant policy. This includes Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined operations.

Department for Education

Department for Education: National Police Chiefs' Council

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with what regularity staff in his Department meet with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Child Protection; and if he will publish the agendas of their last five meetings.

Will Quince: The National Police Chief’s Council are members of both the Safeguarding Children Reform Implementation Board, which meets every quarter and the Vulnerable Children Young People National Board, which meets on an eight-weekly basis. Both forums meet to discuss safeguarding matters and the National Board also considers wider elements of the department’s response to protect vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak.The department does not routinely publish agendas for the National Board although records of the meetings can be provided upon request.

Special Educational Needs

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 114851 on Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus, what criteria his Department will use to monitor the outcomes of the (a) Early Years Professional Development Programme and (b) Nuffield Early Language Intervention for children with speech and language difficulties.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 114851 on Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus, what proportion of children his Department estimates those interventions will reach.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 114851 on Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus, if he publish a breakdown of funding distributed via the Early Years Professional Development Programme in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 114851 on Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus, if he will publish a breakdown of estimated funding provided through the Nuffield Early Language Intervention in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency.

Will Quince: The early years education recovery programme focuses on improving training for early years practitioners. This is one of the key levers for driving up quality in early education environments. Whilst elements of the programme will be initially targeted, the programme will ultimately have national coverage.Up to £30 million will be invested in phases one and two of the Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP). Combined, the phases will reach early years providers in 101 local authority areas. A further phase of the programme, backed by up to £37.5 million, will ensure national reach.To ensure assessment of the impact of EYPDP, the department has commissioned independent evaluation of the first phase of the programme.The department has no plans to publish a breakdown of funding by local authority or parliamentary constituency area. However, we are committed to ensuring EYPDP reaches the areas and children who need it most.For the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), trained staff complete language assessments with their reception pupils, evaluating whether they would benefit from the 20-week programme. After completion of the programme, schools reassess the pupils’ language skills to monitor progress and help plan what provisions may be needed as the children move into year 1. The Education Endowment Foundation is delivering a long-term evaluation of the NELI programme and will publish reports on the results.Two thirds of primary schools have signed up to deliver NELI, reaching an estimated 90,000 children. A list of schools signed up to deliver NELI in the 2020/21 academic year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neli-nuffield-early-language-intervention-programme. The department will shortly be publishing the list of schools signed up to deliver NELI in the 2021/22 academic year. It does not have plans to publish a breakdown of funding in local authorities or parliamentary constituencies.

Children in Care: Safety

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of children in local authority care; and if his Department will take steps to ensure the safety of children by ensuring that (a) all settings are regulated by Ofsted, (b) children are not placed in care outside their local authority area due to lack of appropriate placements and (c) children are cared for by more than two staff members at any one time.

Will Quince: Local authorities have statutory duties to meet the needs of children they look after, and to keep them safe. The government is committed to ensuring that all placements provide children and young people with the care and support they need.The vast majority of looked after children live with foster carers or in a children’s homes. Foster carers and children’s’ homes are already subject to robust regulatory checks and balances by Ofsted, to ensure that they meet the needs of children they accommodate and keep them safe. A growing number of older children live in supported accommodation, often termed ‘unregulated provision’ because it is not currently registered and inspected by Ofsted.The department will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards, Ofsted registration and inspection for these providers. This will mean that all placements that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 will now be regulated by Ofsted.Where local authorities place a young person out of area, there are clear statutory requirements in place to safeguard young people. These require the placing authority to inform the host authority before confirming the placement and to check whether the host authority is aware of any concerns about the setting. The statutory responsibilities for looked after children remain with the placing local authority and Director of Children’s Services who must approve all distant placements, and Ofsted can challenge where they believe a poor decision has been made.In October 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £259 million capital funding which will provide high quality homes for some of our most vulnerable young people, keeping them closer to families, schools, and health services.When local authorities make a placement decision, they are responsible for ensuring the placement is suitable. This includes ensuring staff who will be looking after the child at the setting are appropriately trained and have the skills needed to meet the needs of the child and keep them safe. It is not in accordance with the law to place a looked after child in a setting that does not meet their needs and keep them safe, and it is unacceptable for any child or young person to be placed in such a setting.

Department for Education: Social Media

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on Ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.

Michelle Donelan: We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.In addition to the Civil Service Code, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers, the guidance can be found here: https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/guidance/professional-standards/propriety/propriety-in-digital-and-social-media/.The department employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

Department for Education: Social Media

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in his Department are managing Ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.

Michelle Donelan: We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.In addition to the Civil Service Code, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers, the guidance can be found here: https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/guidance/professional-standards/propriety/propriety-in-digital-and-social-media/.The department employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

Students: Muslims

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to provide an alternative student finance product for Muslim students who are unable to access student loans owing to their beliefs on interest.

Michelle Donelan: The government’s priority, in our response to the report of the Independent Panel of the Review of Post 18 Education and Funding, is to put the student finance system on a sustainable footing for the long term.As part of our response, we are introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE). We are considering if and how Alternative Student Finance (ASF) could be delivered as part of the LLE.We believe it is sensible to align future delivery of an ASF product with these major reforms to ensure fair treatment for all students.

Remote Education

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance was issued to schools on the discharge of child safeguarding responsibilities at a time of remote learning in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021.

Will Quince: During the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, the department produced revised safeguarding guidance in a very short timescale, as a proportionate response intended to help schools and colleges with the discharge of their safeguarding responsibilities. The guidance included, amongst other things, matters such as the importance of schools and colleges reviewing and revising their child protection policies and the role and responsibilities of the designated safeguarding lead (and deputies).We have always been clear throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that schools and colleges must continue to have regard to the statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, both online and offline. The revised KCSIE, which came into force on 1 September 2021 has been strengthened to give online safety greater prominence and provide extra support for schools and colleges to keep their students safe. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.It includes a dedicated collection of resources to support safe remote education, virtual lessons and live streaming, as well as signposting parents and carers to help on keeping their children and young people safe.To support schools and colleges in meeting remote education expectations, our Get Help With Remote Education page provides a one-stop-shop for teachers and leaders, signposting the support package available. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education. This includes information on issues such as safeguarding, statutory duties and expectations. In particular the Safeguarding and remote education during COVID-19 guidance provides guidance on how to follow safeguarding procedures when planning remote education strategies and teaching remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safeguarding-and-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Children: Disability

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the relevant stakeholders on supporting disabled children and families to recover from the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: The department’s £18 million supported internship scheme will help more people into sustained paid employment. We are also making better respite care available for those who care for children with special educational needs and disabilities, with councils getting an extra £30 million for the next three years to set up more than 10,000 additional respite placements for vulnerable children.The Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have worked together to secure funding for councils. This year councils have access to £51.3 billion to deliver their core services, including a £1.7 billion grant for social care. The government has also given over £6 billion in non-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services.In addition to statutory services, the department is providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in the 2021/22 financial year to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.The department will continue to work with other government departments, including DLUHC, to ensure the needs of children’s services are reflected.

Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 114851 on Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus, what estimate he has made of the number of additional qualified level 3 special educational needs coordinators required by each local authority.

Will Quince: In line with the early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework, group-based early years providers and childminders are expected to identify a person to act as a special educational needs coordinator (SENCO). It is the responsibility of early years providers to ensure that they operate in compliance with the EYFS framework.As part of the early years recovery programme, the Department for Education will fund a significant increase in the amount of training available to early years SENCOs that results in an accredited level 3 early years SENCO qualification. SENCOs working in group-based and childminder settings will be eligible for this training. It will be nationally available, targeting local authorities which have higher levels of disadvantage because these have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak and are where we know the support is most needed. We estimate that the training will achieve an increase of up to 10% in the number of early years providers with a qualified SENCO.The training package is subject to independent evaluation to explore the effects of the training on practitioner knowledge of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the accuracy of SEND identification, the quality of support in place and levels of school readiness. This will help develop our understanding of SEND support across the early years sector to inform any future training and development initiatives.

Apprentices: Standards

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that apprentices are not affected by the transition to the provision by Ofqual of external quality assurance of apprenticeship end-point assessments through the regulation of end-point assessment organisations.

Alex Burghart: Simplifying and strengthening the way we conduct external quality assurance of endpoint assessment organisations (EPAOs) will help to ensure that EPAOs are consistently delivering high quality, fair and reliable endpoint assessments for apprentices and their employers.To ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements we are working closely with Ofqual, EPAOs and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Throughout the transition process our primary aim is to minimise any disruption to apprentices or employers. We are maintaining effective quality oversight of end point assessments in the interests of all stakeholders, including apprentices and have, for example, extended the overall transition deadline to December 2022 to minimize any disruption and will work with any EPAO that fails to achieve the required standard in order to deliver a bespoke plan which priorities the quality of the apprenticeship experience.We actively manage the register of EPAOs to ensure there is sufficient coverage of EPAOs for all apprenticeship standards and apprentices and continue to do so throughout the transition.

British Constitution: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that schools teach young people about the history of the British constitutional system.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that schools teach young people about (a) British veterans and (b) the Armed Forces Covenant.

Mr Robin Walker: We want all children to leave school with the knowledge, skills and values that will prepare them to be active citizens in modern Britain.Teaching about the British constitutional system, political issues, different viewpoints and the way in which pupils can engage in our democratic society form an essential part of a broad and balanced curriculum, and are covered within citizenship education. Citizenship education is mandatory in secondary maintained schools as part of the national curriculum. Primary maintained schools and all academies are encouraged to cover citizenship as part of their duty to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum.In citizenship, pupils will learn about the role of Parliament and how citizens can take part in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond. They will also learn about the role of police, courts and justice, free press, human rights and international law, as well as the governments of other countries.Whilst we do not direct schools to teach about British veterans and the Armed Forces Covenant, schools are free to do so in the context of their citizenship curriculum. Teachers are also able to teach about Britain’s constitutional system, British veterans and the armed forces within other subjects. For instance, the history curriculum can cover political and social movements past and present, as can other subjects such as English when the context is right.

BTEC Qualifications: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of concerns highlighted by The Independent Game Developers’ Association on the impact of removing funding for BTECs for young people on people wishing to pursue a career in the video games industry.

Alex Burghart: In July 2021 the department published the response to the second stage consultation in its review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-in-england. The consultation outlines the types of qualifications that we plan to fund in the future.This will include some applied general type qualifications, for example BTECs, as part of mixed programmes alongside A levels where there is a need and they meet quality and other criteria. We will also fund high-quality alternative qualifications as a whole study programme in areas not well served by A levels and where they do not overlap with a T Level.The department has made no decisions on the individual qualifications. We will shortly publish a provisional list of qualifications that will have public funding approval withdrawn as they duplicate the content and purpose of wave one and two T Levels. Qualifications that do not overlap with T Levels will be replaced by high quality reformed technical qualifications in future.The updated impact assessment published alongside the response to the second stage consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-in-england. The assessment looked at the potential impact of the review on students, but it did not look specifically at those looking to pursue a career in the video games industry.

Children in Care: Disabled

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access for (a) parents and (b) guardians of people with disabilities to specialist advice on section 20 voluntary arrangements.

Will Quince: The responsibility to assess the needs of a looked after child and to support the family rests with the local authority. If children have to live apart from their family, both they and their parents/guardians should be given adequate information and helped to consider alternatives and contribute to the making of an informed choice about the most appropriate form of care.The care plan for all looked after children, including children accommodated under a voluntary arrangement, will reflect a multi-agency contribution to ensure that the full range of a child’s developmental needs are identified and addressed to improve their outcomes.We are providing over £42 million in the 2021/22 financial year to continue funding projects to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This includes £27.3 million to the Family Fund in 2021/22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. It also includes £8.6 million to support the effective involvement of parent carers and young people in designing SEND policies and services.

Children in Care

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access for families to (a) preventative services and (b) support before children enter the care system.

Will Quince: The ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018’ statutory guidance makes clear that early help services should form part of a continuum of help in local areas that can respond to the needs of children and families. Since April 2015, Supporting Families (previously the Troubled Families Programme) has directly helped over 470,000 vulnerable families make positive changes to their lives, with many thousands more benefitting from services joining up to ensure access to early, coordinated, whole family support. The evaluation shows the programme is successfully preventing high-cost statutory intervention. For example, it found the proportion of children on the programme going into care reduced by a third. In the 2021 Autumn Budget, a combined Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care, and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities package of £500 million for early help was announced. This includes a £300 million package to transform ‘Start for Life’ services and create a network of family hubs in half of council areas in England, and a £200 million uplift to the Supporting Families programme.The additional funding for Supporting Families takes the total investment to £695 million over the next 3 years, around a 40% real-terms uplift in funding for the programme by the 2024/25 financial year.We also have the independent review of children’s social care. The review will look at the whole system of support, safeguarding, protection and care, and the child’s journey into and out of that system, including relevant aspects of preventative services provided as part of early help. This will include children throughout their interaction with children’s social care, from referral, child in need and child protection plans, through to becoming looked after. The review will set out its final recommendations in spring 2022.We estimate local authorities spent £11.1 billion on children’s services in 2020/21. This includes children's social care, but also early years and children’s centres, youth justice and youth services.

Children: Disability

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure the Green Paper on special educational needs proposes reforms to the way health and care services work for families with disabled children.

Will Quince: The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) review aims to ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the support they need and a positive experience within a financially sustainable system. We want to clarify accountabilities at every level of the system and realise the benefits of aligned education, health and care provision. We have engaged extensively during the review to understand how the system is working for disabled children.The department recognises the need to make sure that changes we propose are supported and understood across health and care services, as well as education providers. We will set out our approach in a Green Paper, which will be published in the first quarter of this year for full public consultation.

Skilled Workers: Video Games

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the accreditation system introduced by The Independent Game Developers’ Association in ensuring that universities and colleges can provide graduates with skills relevant to the game development sector.

Michelle Donelan: Driving up quality of higher education (HE) provision is a key priority for this government, and we are working with Office for Students to ensure all students receive high quality outcomes and are supported to progress to high skilled employment or further study through their HE course.We expect higher and further education providers to ensure their courses at level 4 to 7 support students to progress into the workplace. Professional standards and progression frameworks like those developed by The Independent Game Developers’ Association can help providers design and deliver courses and work experience and ensure students can progress in professions. Assessment of the benefit of these standards is a matter for the provider.As part of our technical education reforms, we want to make sure that the majority of technical qualifications at level 3 and below are based on employer-led occupational standards.

Science and Technology: Vocational Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote the uptake of science and technology subjects to students in vocational education.

Alex Burghart: The department recognises that the demand for skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is growing, and we are proud to be encouraging more pupils into STEM at all key stages. We have put employers at the heart of the technical education system, asking them to set out the skills and knowledge that they need now and in the future. This has formed the basis of new occupational standards. So far, STEM employers, including those in construction, digital, engineering and manufacturing, and health and science sectors have developed 343 apprenticeships based on these standards.We are introducing T Levels, boosting access to high quality technical education for thousands of young people, which are also based on the same occupational standards. T Levels in Digital, Construction and Health and Science are now being taught and T Levels in Engineering and Manufacturing will launch this September. A new campaign, ‘Get the Jump’, has been launched to help young people aged 14 to 19 to understand their education and training choices. More information on this can be found here: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-your-education-and-training-choices. T Levels are featured heavily in the campaign as an exciting new option for young people alongside apprenticeships, traineeships and Higher Technical QualificationsAlongside this, we are investing up to £290 million to establish a comprehensive network of Institutes of Technology across England. These are unique collaborations between further education colleges, universities and employers specialising in delivering higher technical education and training in key STEM subjects such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, robotics, precision farming and health and life sciences. A key objective of the programme is to increase participation from under-represented groups to support the long-term STEM skills pipeline.For those earlier on in their education, we are proud to have made substantial spending commitments to improve the teaching and uptake of STEM subjects in schools. We are offering a bursary worth £24,000 tax-free or a prestigious scholarship worth £26,000 tax-free to train to teach the highest priority subjects of chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics and a £15,000 tax-free bursary for design and technology. In line with the Gatsby Benchmarks for good career guidance, all schools are expected to provide at least one meaningful encounter with employers per pupil per year, with an emphasis on STEM employers.We have improved the quality of technical awards. These non-GCSE qualifications are intended to equip 14-16 year olds with applied knowledge not usually acquired in general qualifications. They are intended to focus on a sector or occupational group and enable the development of knowledge as well as associated practical skills where appropriate.Schools have access to the STEM Careers toolkit which provides ideas and practical suggestions on how STEM specific content might be used to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks. This includes useful resources, examples of good practice and sharing STEM careers resources, such as job profile examples, further study route information and labour market information with teachers.

National School Breakfast Programme

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on monitoring student uptake of free breakfast provision as part of the National School Breakfast Programme in the 2021-22 academic year.

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the National School Breakfast Programme missed its target of reaching 2,500 schools in the 2021-22 academic year; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The department is investing up to £24 million to continue the national school breakfast programme until the end of the summer term in 2023. This will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn. The focus of the programme is to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the department’s opportunity areas.The enrolment process for schools joining the programme is currently ongoing, and we continue to see strong interest from eligible schools since we invited the expressions of interest. Throughout the current contract we will be working with our provider, Family Action, to monitor different aspects of the current programme, including data on pupil uptake. We will consider the best opportunities and will share information on the programme in due course.In the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, we took the decision to extend our free breakfast provision beyond April 2022, enabling schools to receive free food until the end of July 2022. This means that any school signing up to the programme now can still benefit from up to two terms’ worth of free food. This is followed by a very substantial discount of 75% for the following three terms, making this is an attractive offer to schools.

British Nationals Abroad: Afghanistan

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all eligible minors evacuated under Operation Pitting are currently attending UK schools.

Mr Robin Walker: All children resident in the UK are entitled to access education irrespective of their immigration status.Working with local councils and other networks, all school-age children and young people who arrived during Operation Pitting have now been placed in schools. We continue to work closely with local councils where we have information of Afghan families being relocated.Operation Warm Welcome is a cross-government effort to ensure Afghans arriving in the UK receive the vital support they need to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate into their local communities.We are working hard across government on this coordinated effort to resettle Afghan families. Operation Warm Welcome has made £12 million available in extra education funding, which prioritises additional school places and covers school transport, extra English lessons, specialist teachers and more, so that Afghan children and young people get the best possible start in this country. This funding has been distributed by the department.

Adoption: Communication

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, following the publication of the Adoption strategy, what steps his Department has taken to improve the Letterbox contact system.

Will Quince: Local authorities have a legal duty to provide a comprehensive adoption service. This specifically includes, ‘Assistance, including mediation services, in relation to arrangements for contact between an adoptive child and a natural parent, natural sibling, former guardian or a related person of the adoptive child’.As set out in our published ‘Adoption Strategy: achieving excellence everywhere’ we are working with local authorities and Regional Adoption Agencies to improve support around contact with birth relatives, including letterbox contact. This will include working closely with birth parents and those with lived experiences. The strategy can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adoption-strategy-achieving-excellence-everywhere.More details on actions to improve contact will be confirmed in due course.

Sign Language: GCSE

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish proposals for the GCSE in British Sign Language; and what his timetable is for including that subject in the National Curriculum.

Mr Robin Walker: The department is aiming to introduce a GCSE in British Sign Language (BSL) as soon as possible, if it meets the rigorous requirements that apply to all GCSEs. Officials are currently working closely with subject experts and Ofqual to develop the draft subject content. The department plans to consult publicly on the draft content later this year.There are no current plans to make BSL a compulsory part of the national curriculum. Schools are free to teach BSL as part of their school curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.

National School Breakfast Programme

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have signed-up to receive support from the National School Breakfast Programme in the 2021-22 academic year.

Will Quince: The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme until July 2023. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.The enrolment process is still underway for schools that wish to sign up to the programme. As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools had signed up and 847 schools had placed food orders. We will work with our supplier Family Action to monitor the data and consider suitable opportunities to share more information on the programme as it progresses.The government recognises the contribution school breakfasts can make to children's wellbeing and learning. Alongside our national programme, there are also a number of organisations providing valuable support to schools with a breakfast provision.

Children: Social Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to ensure referrals from schools to children’s social care services are responded to (a) appropriately and (b) promptly.

Will Quince: Statutory guidance sets out respectively what school staff should do if they have concerns about a child’s welfare and how children’s social care services should respond to referrals. ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (2021) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2. ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (2018) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.Where a child is suffering harm, or likely to suffer harm, a referral to children’s social care should be made immediately. Referrals should follow the local referral process.Within one working day of the receipt of referral, a social worker should acknowledge receipt to the referrer and decide the next steps. Feedback should be given to the referrer and the former guidance places the onus on the referrer to follow up if this information is not received. If, after a referral, the child’s situation does not appear to be improving, the school should consider escalating their concerns via local processes to ensure that matters of concern have been addressed and the child’s situation has improved.The latter guidance sets out that local authorities, with their safeguarding partners, should develop and publish local protocols for assessment. The local protocol should set out clear arrangements for how cases will be managed once a child is referred to local authority social care and must be consistent with the requirements of the statutory guidance.Joint Targeted Area Inspections (JTAIs), carried out jointly by Ofsted, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the Chief Inspector of Probation for England & Wales, and the Care Quality Commission, provide a rigorous assessment of the quality of safeguarding arrangements in a local area.

Pre-School Education: Speech and Language Disorders

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to early years staff to help them understand, identify and support children with difficulties in speaking and understanding as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

Will Quince: The department is investing up to £180 million in the early years sector through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development for the youngest children, to support recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes:New, universally accessible online training to upskill practitioners and improve their knowledge of child development.Access to mentoring support for early years practitioners to help strengthen childrens learning and development.An expansion of the Professional Development Programme, which has a focus on early language, as well as maths, and personal, social, and emotional development.A significant expansion of the number of staff in group-based providers, and childminders, with an accredited level 3 special educational needs coordinator qualification. This will lead to better identification of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and better support for children with SEND.The Nuffield Early Language Intervention, which is a proven programme aimed at the reception aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development, includes training for staff on identifying speech and language difficulties and is proven to help children make around three months of additional progress. Two thirds of all primary schools are signed up to deliver this programme.The review of the early years educator level 3 qualification, which will explore ways to strengthen SEND expertise in the workforce.

Pre-School Education: Speech and Language Disorders

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of whether children who are eligible for help with their speaking and understanding language are receiving targeted interventions under Departmental budgets beyond the early years and in their reception year.

Will Quince: All schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) of the pupils they support, including those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), and to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person gets the support they need.Schools, along with the local authority and health partners, should work with families to co-produce arrangements for delivering speech and language therapy.The department recognises the impact that COVID-19 has had on children and young people with SLCN and has therefore consistently prioritised children with SEND.We have provided additional uplifts for those who attend specialist settings (including special units in mainstream schools) in both the catch-up premium in the 2020/21 academic year and the recovery premium for the 2021/22 academic year, and a higher rate of funding for non-mainstream schools for school-led tutoring in recognition of the significantly higher per pupil costs they face.

Children: Social Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) legal advice and (b) independent specialist advice after a non-emergency child protection enquiries is made.

Will Quince: Local authorities are responsible for assessments under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 to determine whether a child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. They should be led by a local authority social worker with input from the safeguarding partners and other agencies.The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is clear that the child should be at the centre of safeguarding activities, and that practitioners should work in partnership with the child and their families when making decisions about their lives. The guidance also sets out how section 47 enquiries and child protection conferences should be conducted. It makes clear that the social worker should ensure that the child and their parents understand the purpose of the conference, who will attend and prepare the child, particularly if they are attending or making representations through a third party. As part of this, the social worker should give information about advocacy agencies and explain that the family may bring an advocate, friend or supporter. The statutory guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.

Children: Carers

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the suitability of guidance for (a) education, (b) healthcare and (c) other public services on the needs of kinships carers and the children they care for.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) financial support and (b) paid leave available to kinship carers compared to (i) foster carers and (ii) adoptive parents.

Will Quince: ‘Family and Friends Care: statutory guidance for local authorities’ sets out a framework for the provision of support to family and friends carers. Local authorities and health partners/agencies in England must have regard to it when exercising their functions under that section. The guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/288483/family-and-friends-care.pdf.The guidance specifically says that cross agency support is important. Section 2.9 states, ‘The provision of effective inter-agency support to family and friends carers is one way to help achieve this (narrowing the gap in outcomes between disadvantaged children and their peers). Agencies should consider the needs of children living with family and friend’s carers when they are targeting their early intervention services, and reflect these needs in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, which is a joint assessment of the health and wellbeing of the local community made by the local authority and health services’.It also says at section 2.15 that, ‘Specialist services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and services for children with special educational needs and disabilities must be sensitive to the particular needs of children and young people living with family and friends carers’.Last year the department issued guidance to change the school admissions Fair Access Protocol list to add children who live under a special guardianship order or child arrangement order. This will help ensure these families are allocated a school place as quickly as possible. In addition, guidance for school leaders sets out that children who were previously in care who now live in a formal kinship care arrangement have the support of a designated teacher and are entitled to Pupil Premium Plus. This is extra funding of £2,345 per pupil given to schools.The statutory guidance is clear that local authorities should be considering financial help for kinship carers. All local authorities must have a clear policy for deciding which children are eligible for help and services, including financial support.Support for kinship carers is a key focus of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. The government looks forward to hearing those recommendations in due course when the report publishes in the Spring.

Children: Social Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to help enable access to family group conferences at an earlier stage in decision making on the future of a child.

Will Quince: As part of the £84 million ‘Strengthening Families, Protecting Children’ programme, the department is funding six local authorities to adopt the Leeds Family Valued model, which includes implementation of the Family Group Conference (FGC) service at an early stage when a child might potentially be taken into care. Further guidance on this programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strengthening-families-protecting-children-sfpc-programme.This is in addition to 21 local authorities funded via the department’s ‘Supporting Families Investing in Practice’ programme to deliver FGC at in the last stages of care proceedings. Both approaches are being evaluated.Alongside evaluation findings, the forthcoming findings from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care will inform decisions on the future role of FGC to safeguard children and support children and families.

Special Educational Needs

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to engage with families with disabled children following the publication of the Green Paper on special educational needs.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to engage with families with disabled children following the publication of the Green Paper on special educational needs and disability.

Will Quince: The department will publish the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) review Green Paper in the first quarter of this year for full public consultation.It is critical that we hear from as many people as possible during our consultation to get invaluable feedback on our proposals from a wide range of perspectives. This includes parents and carers, children, young people and sector professionals.The department is working with a steering group and a range of other individuals and organisations to best ensure that children and young people with SEND, and parents and carers will be able to engage fully.

Children: Disability

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to tackle backlogs in disabled children’s health and care services.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to tackle backlogs in disabled children’s health and care services.

Will Quince: I refer the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton and the hon. Member for Rother Valley to the answer I gave on 21 January 2022 to Question 106872.

Schools: Restraint Techniques

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to implement the recommendations of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report entitled How schools are monitoring the use of restraint; and if he will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to introduce (a) national standards for training on restraint in schools and (b) requirements for data on restraints in schools to be published.

Mr Robin Walker: The government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into the training, monitoring, data collection and recording of the use of restraint in mainstream and special schools. The department will set out its position in due course.Regarding broader behaviour management issues, the department is currently consulting on the draft Behaviour in Schools guidance and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance. These will equip headteachers to create calm, orderly, safe and supportive school environments where all pupils can thrive and reach their potential in safety and dignity and where exclusions are only ever used lawfully, and when absolutely necessary as a last resort. The consultation closes on 31 March 2022.

Social Services: Children

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with Ofsted on (a) the adequacy of the performance of children's social care services in England and (b) steps to improve standards among those agencies.

Will Quince: Ministers and officials at the department meet representatives of Ofsted frequently to discuss the delivery of local authority-run children’s services. I last had such a discussion with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector in February of this year.

National Tutoring Programme: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2022 to Question 121732 on the National Tutoring Programme, what increase in the number of (a) tutors and (b) tutor hours in the North East of England is represented by the increase from three accredited tutoring organisations in the region to six; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The department previously understood that the Open Access second round had added three tuition partners covering the north-east, bringing the total to six. However, the latest data from the department’s supplier indicates that six were added, meaning nine accredited tuition organisations are operating in the area. This means there is increased capacity to offer face-to-face and online tuition in the north-east.The department does not currently have figures on the increase in number of tutors. The department is unable to confirm how many tutoring hours will be added by its new tutoring partners to the north-east as they operate across multiple regions. However, each tutoring organisation commits to delivering high quality tuition to at least 500 pupils. The department will continue to monitor regional data and tutoring partner capacity to ensure it has sufficient coverage of all regions, including the north-east.

National Tutoring Programme

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Tutoring Programme contract with Randstad, whether the current breakdown of tutoring packages reflects the minimum requirements in the contract for tutoring packages to be delivered as set out, that is (a) South East five per cent; (b) London eight per cent; (c) North West seven per cent; (d) East of England four per cent; (e) West Midlands six per cent; (f) South West three per cent; (g) Yorkshire & the Humber five per cent; (h) East Midlands four per cent and (i) North East 3 per cent.

Mr Robin Walker: The department will continue to monitor and take targeted action in areas with low levels of tutoring. A second application round for tutoring organisations in November was designed to increase capacity in these areas. These organisations are now in post and active, focused on increasing capacity and delivery in these areas from January 2022. For example, in the North East there were previously three accredited tutoring organisations, this has increased to nine , making tutoring far more accessible to schools and increasing capacity. Randstad has bespoke communication plans for each region, the department continues to refine these with Randstad so that all useful channels, including local press, are fully engaged.National participation data has been published for the first term of this year; the department has committed to publish participation data on a regular basis to explain the programme's progress. Regional delivery is reviewed regularly for operational purposes and to ensure supply is available where it is needed, and the department is considering the practicalities of publishing regional data.

National Tutoring Programme

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will exercise the right set out in the National Tutoring Programme contract with Randstad to require additional granularity in the breakdown of tutoring packages delivered by region; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The department will continue to monitor and take targeted action in areas with low levels of tutoring. A second application round for tutoring organisations in November was designed to increase capacity in these areas. These organisations are now in post and active, focused on increasing capacity and delivery in these areas from January 2022. For example, in the North East there were previously three accredited tutoring organisations, this has increased to nine , making tutoring far more accessible to schools and increasing capacity. Randstad has bespoke communication plans for each region, the department continues to refine these with Randstad so that all useful channels, including local press, are fully engaged.National participation data has been published for the first term of this year; the department has committed to publish participation data on a regular basis to explain the programme's progress. Regional delivery is reviewed regularly for operational purposes and to ensure supply is available where it is needed, and the department is considering the practicalities of publishing regional data.

Ministry of Justice

Sexual Harassment: Internet

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to make cyber flashing a criminal offence.

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his planned timeframe is for making cyber flashing a specific criminal offence.

Victoria Atkins: The government remains firmly committed to the protection of people from abuse and harm online. While this disturbing behaviour may already be captured by existing offences the Government is keenly aware of concerns that have been expressed over the misuse of new communications technology. Therefore we asked the Law Commission to review the law on Harmful Online Communications to ensure that the law is up to date and fully equipped to protect victims. The Law Commission has completed that review and made a number of recommendations, including the creation of a new criminal offence to capture specifically the practice known as cyberflashing. The Government is carefully considering that recommendation, and potential legislative vehicles, as we aim to introduce a new specific offence to criminalise this behaviour.

Alternatives to Prison: Females

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the NAO's finding in the report, Improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system, that there has been little progress on securing and expanding community alternatives to prison for women.

Victoria Atkins: Since the Female Offender Strategy was published in 2018 with the aim of steering women away from crime, the number of women entering the criminal justice system for the first time has fallen by 30%. We are investing tens of millions of pounds over the next three years into community services like women centres, drug rehabilitation and accommodation support so fewer women end up in prison. We are piloting Residential Women’s Centres, offering an intensive residential support package in the community for women at risk of short custodial sentences.

Prison Sentences

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of the use of short custodial prison sentences on people's ability to maintain tenancies and housing.

Victoria Atkins: We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime, and public protection is our priority. Sentencers should therefore have the option of imposing a short custodial sentence, where appropriate and necessary. However, custody should always be a last resort. If we are able to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in robust and effective community sentences, which we are legislating to strengthen. On arrival in custody, urgent housing needs are identified and support provided to maintain a tenancy or other housing, where appropriate and possible. For individuals in custody for short periods of time it is possible to continue to receive the housing element of Universal Credit for up to six months if they are expected to spend less than six months in prison and were receiving the housing element prior to entering custody. If receiving Housing Benefit rather than Universal Credit, payments may continue if an individual is held on remand in custody for less than 52 weeks, or likely to be in prison for less than 13 weeks (sentenced or remand).

Reoffenders: Gender

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of recording the reoffending rates of former prisoners by gender.

Victoria Atkins: We routinely produce proven reoffending statistics of offenders released from custody or who received a caution or non-custodial conviction at court, but we do not produce solely for those released from custody.Proven reoffending rates are available by gender in Table A2 Proven reoffending statistics: January to March 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Open Prisons: Females

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of the 500 new prison places for women will be open provision.

Victoria Atkins: The exact numbers and mix of new open and closed facilities are being finalised subject to site surveys and planning and, when agreed, will be released at the earliest opportunity.

Prison Accommodation: Females

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women’s prison cells will be brought back into use through the £21 million in funding allocated to refurbishing the women’s prison estate, in each of the next five years.

Victoria Atkins: We are delivering high quality facilities in women’s prisons including providing up to 500 new places. In addition, we will continue to invest a significant proportion of our custodial capital and resource budgets received through Spending Review ‘21 on improving the condition and operational integrity of existing accommodation. The final allocation is determined through an internal process, currently underway.

Criminal Proceedings: Females

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish its one-year on report on the national concordat on women in contact, or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.

Victoria Atkins: The Government remains committed to publishing an update on delivering the approach and principles in the Concordat. We are considering the recommendations of the January 2022 report by the National Audit Office and the current Public Accounts Committee inquiry on Improving Outcomes for Women in the Criminal Justice System before finalising the report. We expect to publish by summer.

Administration of Justice and Human Rights: Saudi Arabia

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which issues, cases and concerns in connection with human rights and judicial reform were raised and discussed during his meeting with the Justice Minister of Saudi Arabia in London on 25 January 2022.

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made for the implication of his policy of the recent judicial reform in Saudi Arabia, following the announcement by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in February 2021 of the intention to reform the Kingdom’s judicial institutions by the end of that year.

James Cartlidge: The Secretary of State for Justice and the Justice Minister of Saudi Arabia discussed developments in the field of judicial reform and human rights. The UK supports judicial reforms in line with international standards and welcomes Saudi Arabia’s efforts towards goals set out in Vision 2030. The Secretary of State also raised individual human rights cases in Saudi Arabia.

Courts: Digital Technology

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the introduction of the Common Platform tool on the number of cases processed per day in courts using the tool.

James Cartlidge: Analysis of Common Platform’s performance is ongoing. We expect Common Platform to significantly outperform legacy systems once full functionality is delivered later this year.

Courts: Digital Technology

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish all feedback received by his Department from early adopter courts on the experiences of those courts with the Common Platform tool.

James Cartlidge: It is not our practice to publish internal feedback logs. However, we can confirm that feedback has been continually gathered from all courts using common platform, including early adopters. We have a team investigating all issues raised to determine whether improvements to the system or guidance and process need to be made. Findings from an evaluation of the wider HMCTS Reform Programme will be fed into the programme’s development. An interim report is planned for publication in 2022 with the final report being completed at the end of the reform programme.

Prisoners' Release: Females

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Focus on women’s prisons, A briefing paper from HM Inspectorate of Prisons, published in February 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding that lack of housing for women on release from prison is a critical risk factor in resettlement.

Victoria Atkins: We recognise the challenges facing women seeking accommodation on release. As part of our commitment to eliminate rough sleeping, we are working across Government, with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Welsh Government and other Government Departments, to address the barriers offenders face in securing suitable accommodation. Our Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our vision that no-one subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless. By 2024-25 we will spend £200 million a year to reduce reoffending, including improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation. This includes expanding our new Community Accommodation Service-Tier 3 (CAS3) provision, which currently provides up to 12 weeks temporary housing in five probation regions, to all prison leavers in England and Wales at risk of homelessness who are subject to probation supervision. We understand that women face specific challenges in securing suitable accommodation because of their particular needs. For example, many require accommodation in women-only spaces as a result of their experiences of domestic abuse, or require additional space for their children. The temporary accommodation we are providing takes account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs, with accommodation provision dedicated to single gender usage. Community Probation Practitioners (CPPs), working together with local partners, are responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and have access to additional support through the Women’s Commissioned Rehabilitation Service (CRS). This provision is a holistic service offer, delivered by expert and experienced women’s services, that covers a broad range of interventions including accommodation support.We will also increase the number of Housing Specialists from 20 to 48 across England and Wales. This will support prisons to be more strategic in their response to reducing homelessness and partnership working. Of the original 20 Housing Specialists, four were located in women’s prisons. This ratio will continue to apply to the additional 28 Housing Specialists. We remain committed to the vision in the 2018 Female Offender Strategy, which set out the long-term framework to achieve better outcomes for women at all points of the system, and make society safer by tackling the underlying causes of offending and reoffending. The Strategy set out three main objectives: fewer women offending and reoffending; fewer women in custody, especially on short sentences, with more managed effectively in the community; and better conditions for women in custody that support effective rehabilitation.

Employment Tribunals Service

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many outstanding single claims are currently awaiting an employment tribunal.

James Cartlidge: Our latest published statistics for Employment Tribunals can be found at:www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2021.

Judges: Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what sum the UK Supreme Court received in fees from the Hong Kong authorities for the service of UK judges sitting on Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

James Cartlidge: Serving justices of the UK Supreme Court receive a salary and do not receive any additional fees when sitting on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal pays a fee to the UK Supreme Court.In 2019 the UK Supreme Court received £31,913.70 for sittings undertaken by justices.No fees were received in 2020 as no justices sat on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.The total fees the Supreme Court will receive for the justices’ sittings in 2021 have not yet been confirmed.

Prisoners' Release: Universal Credit

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to assist prison leavers to make applications to universal credit.

Kit Malthouse: Universal Credit provides vital financial support to prisoners and we are committed to ensuring they progress onto Universal Credit quickly, using it to seek and secure work and so reduce reoffending.The government has already made changes to improve access to Universal Credit for prison leavers, including the introduction of a national Universal Credit telephone claim line to provide quick access on the day of release, and also delivered on our manifesto commitment to have a Prison Work Coach in every prison. Prison leavers can also receive an advance payment of Universal Credit entitlement on their day of release.Our Prisons Strategy White Paper set out that the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Work and Pensions will work together to test different approaches for prisoners preparing to make their Universal Credit claim. Our aim is to enable prisoners to prepare a Universal Credit claim and claimant commitment while still in custody. We also want to ensure on release the prisoner has ID and a bank account and explore providing an email address so, where needed, they can immediately apply for and be paid a Universal Credit advance.

Marriage: Paganism

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of affording pagan marriages legal status; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Pursglove: In 2019, we invited the Law Commission to develop options to reform the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, we invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how a revised or new scheme for all marriages could be created that is simple, fair and consistent for all groups. The Government remains committed to considering the case for more comprehensive and enduring reform to marriage law once the Law Commission has completed its fundamental review of the law in this area and will carefully consider the Law Commission’s recommendations when the final report is published.

Powers of Attorney: Modernisation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish a response to the consultation on Modernising Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Tom Pursglove: The Department is in the process of analysing the responses it received to the consultation on modernising lasting powers of attorney. I intend to publish the response in the spring.

Wayland Prison: Solar Power

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 109339 on Wayland Prison: Solar Power, what the total value was of that contract.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 109339 on Wayland Prison: Solar Power, what the breakage costs are of the solar panel contract provided by ENGIE.

Victoria Atkins: The contract with Engie for installing solar panels at HMP Wayland is part of a wider contract, which is available on Contracts finder: ENGIE - HMPPS SOLAR PV GROUNDMOUNTED LOT 1 - Contracts Finder. Specific terms and conditions of our contracts are commercially sensitive.

Ministry of Justice: Accidents

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much compensation has been paid out by his Department following accidents that have taken place on premises controlled by his Department.

James Cartlidge: The question cannot be answered without invoking disproportionate cost.

Courts: Rural Areas

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to help clear the backlog of cases in rural courts.

James Cartlidge: We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our criminal justice system, and we are seeing the impact of our actions.The backlog in the Crown Court has reduced from around 61,000 cases in June 2021 to around 58,700 cases at the end of November 2021 and in the magistrates’ court, the caseload is close to recovering to pre-pandemic levels. In the civil courts, volumes of final hearings increased from around half of pre-Covid levels in June 2020 to around 80% in May 2021. While the family courts’ sitting day figures for 2021 are yet to be published, 2020 saw us sit our highest ever number of days. The volume of disposals also increased significantly in both public and private family law between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021. In public law there were 6,229 disposals and in private law there were 26,672 disposals in Q2 2021, a 20% and 23% increase on Q2 2020 respectively. We have continued to ensure our court buildings are safe, rolled out new technology for remote hearings, recruited additional staff and we will be retaining 32 Nightingale Crown Court rooms until the end of March 2022. Furthermore, we are now extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months for a single Triable Either Way offence to allow more cases to be heard in the magistrates' court. This measure will provide vital additional capacity in the Crown Courts to drive down the backlog of cases over the coming years. We estimate that this will save nearly 2,000 Crown Court sitting days per year. To ensure the regions most at need get the resources required, we are working with the judiciary to move cases across regional boundaries to areas with spare capacity where appropriate, and using a national, flexible pool of judges for regions to draw from as required. We are also taking steps to extend Nightingale Court arrangements, on a case-by-case basis, dependant on local need. We are investing £477 million in the Criminal Justice System over the next three years to help reduce the backlog and deliver the swift access to justice that victims deserve.

Department for International Trade

Elbit Systems UK: Standard Individual Export Licences

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value of the SIEL export licence granted to Elbit Systems was for (a) components for military communications equipment, (b) military communications equipment and (c) software for military communications equipment that was completed on 25 January 2021.

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value of the SIEL export licence granted to Elbit Systems was for (a) body armour, (b) components for military communications equipment, (b) components for military electronic equipment, (c) military communications equipment, (d) military electronic equipment and (e) technology for military communications equipment that was completed on 13 October 2021.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: The licence granted to Elbit Systems UK Limited on 25th January 2021 licensed the following items to the values shown: a) components for military communications equipment: £4,065.00;b) military communications equipment: £4,400.00; andc) software for military communications equipment: £1,200.00 No licence was granted for Elbit Systems UK Limited on 13th October 2021.

RCV Engines: Export Controls

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when a decision will be given on the licence application to The Export Control Joint Unit dated 8 November 2021 from RCV Engines Limited; and for what reason the target of concluding 99 per cent of applications within 60 working days, set out in her letter of 18 February 2022 to the hon Member for Christchurch, has not been met in this case.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: A decision on the application will be given as soon as the cross-government assessment has concluded. Maintaining our robust export control regime means that assessing applications for some destinations is more challenging and will take longer than our target times to assess.

Trade Agreements: Dispute Resolution

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the environmental impact of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in trade agreements; and whether her Department plans to seek to include ISDS provisions in any UK-India trade agreement.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Where the United Kingdom and her treaty partners agree deals containing investment protections and Investor-State Dispute Settlement, they retain the right to regulate in the public interest, including for environmental purposes. The right to regulate is recognised in international law. An agreement with India will aim to tackle and reduce the barriers and difficulties faced by British investors. HM Government’s approach to negotiations with India is publicly available at GOV.UK.

Hospitality Industry

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to (a) profile and (b) promote the UK hospitality sector as part of Government initiatives to encourage international trade such as the GREAT campaign.

Mike Freer: The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign provides global brand recognition to support the promotion of the UK’s strengths around the world. Earlier this month, through the GREAT campaign, the Department for International Trade supported the hospitality, and wider UK food and drink sector, at the Gulfood trade show in Dubai as well as at Dubai Expo. Additionally, the national tourism agency VisitBritain recently launched its new £10 million international GREAT Britain marketing campaign ‘Welcome to Another Side of Britain’ to drive inbound tourism, with the aim of further supporting the hospitality industry.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

British Overseas Territories: Cultural Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department has made an assessment of the benefits of establishing cultural exchange programs with the British Overseas Territories.

Amanda Milling: The UK maintains strong cultural links with the Territories and our continuing partnerships bring benefits to the UK and to the Territories.Currently, young people in the Overseas Territories have access to programmes such as the FCDO-funded Chevening Scholarships, which offers opportunities to develop professionally and academically, experience UK culture, and build lasting positive relationships with the UK. Inhabitants of our Overseas Territories are usually British Overseas Territory Citizens under British Nationality law. Often these British Overseas Territory Citizens also qualify for British citizenship and thus have access to institutions for further and higher education in the UK.

Baltic States: Russia

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps the Government is taking to promote the de-escalation of Russian military presence on the border with the Baltic States.

James Cleverly: The UK is working closely with our Allies and partners to make clear our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that we will not accept Russia's campaign to subvert its democratic neighbours. The Foreign Secretary spoke with her G7 Foreign Ministers on 22 February. G7 leaders spoke on 24 February, and agreed a strong package of coordinated sanctions in response to Russia's actions. The Prime Minister also met NATO leaders on 25 February.The UK is also working with NATO Allies to take proportionate measures to strengthen our ability to deter aggression and defend Alliance territory. This includes deploying additional land forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime and air assets. NATO has also increased the readiness of its forces to respond to all contingencies. These measures are and remain preventative, proportionate and non-escalatory. NATO is a defensive alliance and poses no threat to any state.

Amal Nakhleh

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel on the detention Amal Nakhleh.

Amanda Milling: Officials from the British Embassy Tel Aviv raised Amal Nakhleh's case with the Israeli Ministry of Justice on 27 January. We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the remaining surplus of covid-19 vaccine doses to be donated to countries in need by June 2022 will be in addition to the existing aid budget at 0.5% of Gross National Income.

Amanda Milling: The DAC Secretariat has now provided guidance for reporting donations of excess COVID-19 vaccine doses in ODA for 2021 only. We will continue to engage as the DAC Secretariat review their methodology for donations in 2022.Departmental ODA budgets are increasing significantly over the Spending Review period due to forecast growth in GNI. Spending Review 2021 fully covers the cost of vaccine donations to meet the Prime Minister's commitment on donating 100 million surplus doses by June 2022 as part of the G7 dose-sharing commitments to vaccinate the world by 2022.

Israel: Bedouin

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the government of Israel on the clashes between Israeli police and Bedouin protesters over afforestation activities in the Negev desert.

Amanda Milling: We continue to follow the debate around the issue of unresolved Bedouin land claims, unrecognised Bedouin villages in the Negev and lack of basic services. We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to engage in dialogue to agree a satisfactory solution to the issue, respecting the rights of the people affected.

Myanmar: Crimes against Humanity

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court for (a) atrocity crimes, (b) war crimes, (c) crimes against humanity and (d) genocide.

Amanda Milling: The UK is clear that there must be accountability for atrocities committed in Myanmar. We condemn the ongoing serious human rights violations by the Myanmar Armed Forces. We will continue to raise these issues on the international stage, including at the UN Security Council where we have secured four statements in the last six months. Our assessment remains that there is insufficient support amongst Security Council members for an International Criminal Court (ICC) referral at this time. It will not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed; such a result would only give comfort to the Myanmar military and reduce the pressure they currently face. In November 2019, the Court authorised the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation for the alleged crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction in the Situation in the People's Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Upon review of the available information, the Court accepted that there exists a reasonable basis to believe widespread and/or systematic acts of violence may have been committed that could qualify as the crimes against humanity of deportation across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border and persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion against the Rohingya population.

China: Olympic Games

Ms Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the International Olympic Committee regarding the upholding of Article 50 of the Olympic Charter in response to a Beijing Games spokesperson’s remarks at a press conference stating that reports of forced labour in Xinjiang were lies made up by deliberate groups.

Amanda Milling: The Government supports the International Olympic Committee in its development and application of the Olympic Charter, including Article 50. The Government will not stand for forced labour, wherever it takes place, and has taken measures to help ensure that no British organisations are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the role of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria in achieving the Government’s target to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new born babies and children by 2030.

Amanda Milling: The UK launched the Ending Preventable Deaths of mothers, babies and children approach paper in December 2021. The Global Fund has an important role in addressing HIV, TB and malaria which are significant causes of mortality and morbidity in women and children. Our Ending Preventable Deaths paper recognises the important contribution of the Global Fund and outlines ways we will engage further with our multilateral partners to ensure a strong, integrated approach that will support the entire health system and primary healthcare. The UK pledged £1.4 billion in the Global Fund's 6th replenishment (2020-2022), making us the 2nd largest donor. We look forward to reviewing the investment case of the Global Fund's 7th replenishment which will underpin the targets and resources needed to achieve the Global Fund's 2023-3028 strategy.

Disease Control: International Cooperation

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with relevant stakeholders on ensuring the prioritisation of access to essential public health measures, including the availability of clean water, safe sanitation and good hygiene, within negotiations for a new international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response.

Amanda Milling: The UK was proud to co-sponsor a resolution at the World Health Assembly Special Session in November 2021. This resolution approves the formation of an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.The INB will hold its first meeting by 1 March 2022 and submit its outcome for consideration by the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024. The UK will engage stakeholders as negotiations begin, with a view to a final outcome that learns the lessons of COVID-19 to strengthen preparedness for and response to, future potential pandemics. This will include engaging relevant water, sanitation and hygiene stakeholders.

Development Aid: Water

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how her Department plans to use the Ending Preventable Deaths and Health System Strengthening Approach Papers to inform the development of its country strategy on integrating clean water, safe sanitation and good hygiene into health programmes and investments.

Amanda Milling: The FCDO published an Ending Preventable Deaths Approach Paper and Health Systems Strengthening Position Paper in December 2021. They set out the Government's approach to building strong health systems; championing sexual reproductive health and rights and gender equality; ensuring healthier environments; and supporting research and innovation.Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is an important part of both these strategies and WASH is integral to preventing the deaths of mothers, babies and children by ensuring they live in healthy environments. This includes the provision of WASH within health facilities. These approaches will now be integrated into planning at the global and country level as part of the UK's global health agenda.

Australia: Visits Abroad

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what cost benefit analysis her Department conducted before the making decision to charter a private jet to Australia; and if she will publish that analysis.

James Cleverly: Foreign travel is vital part of diplomacy. The work that ministers do overseas ultimately delivers for the British people. We have three government planes for Government business. They are used by the Prime Minister and Ministers for precisely this purpose. This is standard practice and in the national interest.Every government decision is based on value for money. In accordance with the Ministerial Code, the FCDO publishes the costs related to all overseas Ministerial travel as part of the Quarterly Transparency Return.

Israel and Pakistan: Nuclear Weapons

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of (a) Pakistan's and (b) Israel's nuclear arsenal.

James Cleverly: Pakistan and Israel are not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and as such they are not bound by the legally binding obligations of the NPT. Pakistan has developed a nuclear weapons programme and Israel has never declared a nuclear weapons programme. The UK Government continues to encourage both countries to sign the NPT as Non-Nuclear Weapon States. We continue to monitor all global nuclear developments and will continue to work with international partners to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and advance multilateral nuclear disarmament.

Development Aid: Water

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what opportunities for global leadership her Department has identified in 2022 to promote the importance of clean water, safe sanitation and good hygiene services in health and non-health settings.

Amanda Milling: In 2022, the UK will continue to promote the importance of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene with a systems strengthening approach through our international programmatic support. This includes support to the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, where this year's sector Ministers meeting will explore the theme of 'Building Forward Better for Recovery and Resilience' from COVID-19. It also includes promoting sustainable water management through the Global Water Partnership and supporting the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme which monitors progress on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) globally.Through our policy work, we will continue to engage with our G7 and G20 partners to identify opportunities to progress joint ambitions through supporting WASH services. Similarly, we will continue to work with our partners on the WASH in the Healthcare Facilities Taskforce to identify opportunities to improve WASH services in healthcare facilities.

Saudi Arabia: Political Prisoners

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which conditions attached to the release of political activists (a) Loujain al-Hathloul, (b) Nouf Abdelaziz and (c) Mayaa al-Zahrani from prison in Saudi Arabia are consistent with international human rights standards.

Amanda Milling: We welcome the release of remaining prominent female Women's Rights Defenders in June 2021. In the same month, British Embassy Riyadh raised concern about the conditions attached to the release of some of the women's rights defenders with the Saudi Human Rights Commission. We regularly raise human rights issues and individual cases with the Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia: Criminal Proceedings

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of Saudi Arabian use of a Specialised Criminal Court for the prosecution of human rights defenders and political activists; and if she will make representations to her Saudi Arabian counterpart of the detention of (a) Israa al-Ghomghan, (b) Mousa al-Hashim, (c) Khaled al-Mahoush, (d) Mohammed al-Rabiah, (e) Khaled al-Omair and (f) Ali Mohsen Abu Lahoum in that country.

Amanda Milling: The UK remains concerned over the arrests and continued detention of a number of individuals, particularly those detained for expressing their political views. Lord Ahmad discussed referrals to the Specialised Criminal Court with the Saudi Justice Minister on 7 February 2022. We regularly raise human rights issues and individual cases with the Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the extent to which Saudi Arabian legislation on (a) counter-terrorism, (b) cybercrime and (c) associations and foundations complies with international human rights standards.

Amanda Milling: Counter-terrorism (CT) cooperation with Saudi Arabia is important to UK national security. All security cooperation is subject to rigorous Overseas Security and Justice Assessments (OSJA) to ensure compliance with UK and international human rights standards.

Saudi Arabia: Administration of Justice

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of proposals for judicial reform in Saudi Arabia announced by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in February 2021.

Amanda Milling: The UK welcomes the judicial reforms announced by the Saudi Crown Prince in February 2021. The Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab, and Lord Ahmad, Minister responsible for Human Rights in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, discussed judicial reform with the Saudi Justice Minister on 25 January 2022. Judicial reforms were also discussed during Lord Ahmad's visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 February 2022.

Russia: Ukraine

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen its atrocity prevention capabilities as Russia deploys troops in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and we will use our position to raise any atrocity acts to the attention of the UN. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.

Development Aid: Basic Skills

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2021 to Question 85319, in addition to the EQUIP-T programme, which other UK bilateral education programmes have achieved improvements to learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy at scale.

Vicky Ford: Improving learning outcomes is a priority for UK AID, and we are working bilaterally and with international partners to help education systems improve learning at scale, especially for most marginalised children.Having competent, creative and well-supported teachers is one of the most impactful and cost-effective ways to get girls' learning. In Ghana, our bilateral programme has supported the Government's Teacher Education Policy reforms, making teaching a degree profession for the first time and putting in place new National Teaching Standards. To date, these nation-wide reforms have improved teaching practices of 70,000 student teachers and 1,500 teacher educators. In northern Nigeria, the UK has been working in partnership with State Governments, British Council, Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund to ensure schools are 'teaching at the right level'. This proven cost-effective remedial strategy provides dedicated time for children to master basic skills, alongside regular assessment of students' progress. This approach is now being replicated across several States in northern Nigeria. In Malawi, the UK is supporting the government's reform of the primary school maths curriculum; developing new teaching and learning materials; training all teachers nationwide; and establishing ongoing school-based support. This will benefit over 3.2 million students and over 40,000 teachers nationwide.We are also working with like-minded partners internationally to ensure better use of education evidence and learning data. Our new Global Education What Works Hub is supporting the generation and use of evidence to understand what education interventions work in what contexts, and how these can be scaled effectively to deliver learning at scale for all.

Multilateral Aid: Forced Labour

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding from the public purse provided to the International Finance Corporation is not used to support companies benefiting from forced labour.

Vicky Ford: The International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s Performance Standard 2 defines IFC clients' responsibilities for managing labour and working conditions, and precludes the IFC from supporting clients which employ forced labour. People affected by IFC projects can register complaints through the independent Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsmen. The UK has been working with the IFC and other development finance institutions to develop stronger safeguards to reduce the risk of forced labour in supply chains.

Development Aid: Climate Change

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made towards delivering the annual climate funding worth $100 billion for people in lower-income countries most affected by the climate crisis.

Vicky Ford: Under our COP26 Presidency, 95% of the largest developed country climate finance providers have made new, forward-looking commitments, with many doubling or even quadrupling their support for developing countries to take climate action. These pledges mean that the $100 billion finance goal will be met by 2023 at the latest, and it is now likely that $500bn will be mobilised over the period 2021-25. This means more money for developing countries to decarbonise and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Further information can be found here: https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Climate-Finance-Delivery-Plan-1.pdf

Israel: Palestinians

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to assess the validity of reports from Amnesty International and others suggesting that the Government of Israel used Pegasus spyware against Palestinian NGOs.

Amanda Milling: We do not comment on the use of Pegasus against individuals.The National Cyber Strategy was published in December 2021 and sets out the UK's commitment to countering the proliferation of high-end cyber capabilities. We will continue to work with international partners to achieve this.

Freedom of Religion or Belief Summit

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which countries have been invited to attend the international conference to promote freedom of religion or belief due to take place in London in July 2022.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the international conference to promote freedom of religion or belief due to take place in London in July 2022.

Vicky Ford: Preparations for the conference are ongoing, including consultations with our international and domestic partners to consider possible themes and outcomes. We expect to issue invitations to partner governments, civil society representatives, including faith and non-faith leaders, and others interested in the international FoRB agenda over the next few weeks.

India: Oxfam

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to discuss with her Indian counterpart the government of India's decision not to renew Oxfam's registration under that country's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

Vicky Ford: We are aware that some NGOs have faced difficulties in India due to the use of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by the Indian Government. We understand that such actions have a significant impact on organisations' ability to operate in India. We continue to support a wide range of local NGO partners in India, including through direct programmes.HMG officials have discussed issues facing NGOs with the Indian Government. The Home Office Permanent Secretary sought information from his Indian counterpart on the reasons for Indian Government action against Oxfam India during the recent Home Affairs Dialogue on 10 February. The British High Commissioner to India also met the CEO of Oxfam India on 14 January to understand their concerns and offer support. We continue to monitor developments relating to the FCRA, especially impacts on UK Government-funded programmes in India, and the work of British NGOs in India.

Religious Freedom

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle persecution of religious minorities.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations. We raise our concerns both in public and in private. Multilaterally, we work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In May 2021, we ensured that FoRB was included in the G7 communiqué for the first time, demonstrating our leadership in this field. This year, our Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, will Chair the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to bolster joint international action on FoRB.In addition to our bilateral and multilateral work, we will host an international Ministerial conference on 5-6 July 2022, in London. The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on FoRB will drive forward international efforts on this agenda and demonstrate the UK's leading role in supporting freedom and openness. This conference will allow us to use our global influence to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally.

Development Aid: Agriculture

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that small-scale farmers in low-income countries have access to the Just Rural Transition Fund.

Vicky Ford: At COP26, the UK Government announced a new £65 million Just Rural Transition Support Programme. This programme will build on and scale-up current UK Government support to the Just Rural Transition (£9 million, 2020-23), which is helping countries to take initial steps towards implementing sustainable land use policies and practices, to deliver benefits for people, climate and nature. The new programme will support developing countries to design and implement approaches that help their farmers build resilience and drive investment into more sustainable methods of agriculture through repurposing agricultural policies and support. The programme will also include support to ensure that farmers, including smallholders, are involved in policy-making processes, for example through consultations, trials and pilot programmes for new technologies and approaches.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2022 to Question 101688, by what date (a) Chevening alumni and (b) British Council and Garda World contractors will be notified about their applications to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and receive information about arrangements for safe passage.

Vicky Ford: On 6 January the Government announced the opening of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Under the third pathway, and in the first year, the Government will consider for resettlement British Council and Gardaworld contractors and Chevening alumni who are at risk. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be in touch with those eligible to support them through next steps.

Kenya: Coronavirus

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help increase the manufacturing of covid-19 vaccines and (b) support the rollout of covid-19 vaccination programmes in Kenya.

Vicky Ford: The UK is actively supporting the scaling up of vaccine manufacturing in Africa. Successful vaccine manufacturing needs commercially viable businesses operating within a well-developed ecosystem of skilled workers, innovative technology, and effective regulation. To help deliver this ecosystem, the UK is supporting the new "Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing" initiative to implement a roadmap for African vaccine manufacturing.The UK is also supporting COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in Kenya. COVAX, to which we are one of the largest donors, has delivered 15.8 million doses of vaccines to Kenya. In addition to our financial support to COVAX, we have shared more than 817,000 COVID-19 vaccines with Kenya both through COVAX and bilaterally. During my visit to a vaccination centre in Nairobi in January, I witnessed the strength of the UK-Kenya health partnership and I have discussed vaccine manufacturing with Government of Kenya officials.

China: Russia

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the development of the relationship between Russia and China on the stability of independent states.

James Cleverly: Russia-China bilateral relations are clearly wide-ranging, as we would expect from two Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. As a P5 member, China has an important role to play in the international response to concerns about the stability of independent states. Just as China refused to recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, we would expect China to uphold the UN Charter in the face of Russia's latest violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkey: Human Rights and Torture

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of trends in reports of torture and human rights abuses of citizens by Turkish authorities; and whether her Department has plans to take steps in response to that matter.

James Cleverly: We are clear in our expectation that Turkey, like all countries, should live up to its human rights obligations towards all its citizens. We welcome Turkey's response to the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) 2019 report which reinforced its commitment to zero tolerance against torture and determination to cooperate with the CPT. The CPT also visited Turkey in January 2021 as part of its regular monitoring of conditions. As an active member of the Council of Europe, we support the important monitoring work of the CPT.

Gulf Strategy Fund

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Cyber ambassador programme delivered under the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF), whether that programme is included under the GSF for the financial year 2021-2022; and whether there are plans to run that programme in the financial year 2022-2023.

James Cleverly: The Cyber Ambassador programme was not funded by the FCDO Gulf Strategy Fund in 2021/22. An annual summary of the Fund for 2021/22 will be published on gov.uk. Updates will be provided on an annual basis. Programmes under the Gulf Strategy Fund for 2022/23 onwards are still under consideration.

Zimbabwe: Human Rights

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of recent trends of human rights abuses by Zimbabwean security forces; and what steps her Department plans to take in response to those trends.

Vicky Ford: The UK remains concerned by the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. This includes a lack of accountability for human rights violations, including those responsible for the death of protestors in August 2018 and January 2019, at the hands of the security forces. We are also aware of recent reports of police brutality and are working to verify these allegations. While the UK welcomes steps to legislate for an Independent Complaints Commission, the test will be its ability to act independently and effectively.We have been clear that we want to see the Government of Zimbabwe meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law and safeguarding human rights. The Minister for Africa emphasised these messages when she spoke to President Mnangagwa on 1 November 2021 at COP26. Alongside significant development assistance to help ordinary Zimbabweans, we continue to support civil society organisations focused on human rights. On 1 February 2021, the UK imposed sanctions on four security officials responsible for some of Zimbabwe's worst human rights violations under the current regime. Our sanctions do not target, and seek to avoid impact on, the wider economy and people of Zimbabwe.

Somalia: Development Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support people's livelihoods in Somalia, including supporting local markets and building the resilience of communities affected by drought.

Vicky Ford: The UK is one of Somalia's four largest donors, contributing over £71 million in 2020/21, including £35 million of humanitarian aid. Somalia is the country worst-affected by drought in the Horn of Africa. Recurrent climate shocks and conflicts also continue to drive humanitarian needs in Somalia. Learning the lessons on drought response from 2017, the UK has acted early: we recently announced an additional £13.5 million of support for drought response in Somalia. Our funding will help both to meet immediate needs and to strengthen longer-term resilience to climatic shocks. UK early assistance, and our provision of cash-based support, avoid the selling of productive assets, protect livelihoods and support market functioning. The UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs visited Somalia in early February to assess the situation, and called for all stakeholders to do more in response to the crisis.The UK is also delivering a £38 million Supporting Inclusive Growth in Somalia (SIGS) programme. This focuses on financial sector development and investment system strengthening, and on the inclusive development of Micro-Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in three to four key sectors to mitigate climate and conflict risk. It has also provided an immediate response to Covid-19 and is a programming vehicle to advance the UK's agenda on debt relief. SIGS is working towards realising the following outcome targets for Somalia: leveraging up to £60 million in investment, delivering over £30 million in increased incomes, and creating up to 20,000 jobs including for women and youth.

Burkina Faso: Politics and Government

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the people of Burkina Faso following the recent coup d'etat.

Vicky Ford: The UK is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security and political situation in Burkina Faso and its impact on the Burkinabe people. As I set out in my statement on 25 January 2022, the UK condemns the recent coup d'etat by military forces. To best serve the Burkinabe people, it is vital that Burkina Faso returns to democratic civilian and constitutional rule without delay. We are monitoring the political and security situation closely, and working with partners to encourage a swift, peaceful and constructive resolution to events. Dialogue between all parties is required to tackle insecurity across Burkina Faso, and respond to the needs of the Burkinabe people.

Africa: Coronavirus

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support she is providing to African countries to scale up manufacturing capacity for covid-19 vaccines.

Vicky Ford: We fully recognise the importance of COVID-19 vaccination in Africa, and increasing vaccine coverage in Africa is one of our top priorities. Our £548 million support to COVAX, donation of 12 million surplus doses to Africa, and £20 million support to African Union's COVID-19 Response Fund demonstrate our commitment. We are also supporting the scaling up of vaccine manufacturing in Africa.Successful vaccine manufacturing requires commercially viable businesses operating within a well-developed ecosystem of skilled workers, innovative technology, and effective regulation. To help deliver this ecosystem, the UK is actively supporting the new "Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing" initiative to implement a roadmap for African vaccine manufacturing. We have also provided technical support to develop business cases for vaccine production in South Africa, Senegal, and Morocco.

Development Aid: Forests

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the commitments made at COP26, what recent progress has been made on providing extra funding for cocoa farmers working to prevent deforestation on their lands.

Vicky Ford: The UK works with cocoa farmers to improve livelihoods and prevent deforestation through Partnerships for Forests (P4F) (£120 million, 2015-23). P4F is a global programme which supports partnerships between companies, farmers and communities, piloting new approaches to growing crops like palm oil, cocoa and soya while improving livelihoods and protecting and restoring forests.Cocoa sector support includes funding to the Cocoa and Forest Initiative. UK funds enable the implementation of agreements between the global cocoa industry and the Ghanaian and Ivoirian governments, helping farmers to improve practices and eliminate deforestation from the cocoa supply. P4F also funds landscape-scale partnerships between companies, communities and government agencies, which provide farmers with help to increase productivity and grow deforestation-free, climate smart cocoa. At COP26, the UK announced a £500 million, ten-year second phase of support to Partnerships for Forests, building on the experience of the first phase of the programme. Work is now underway to put this new funding commitment into place.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Food

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether changes to the nutritional content of ration packs provided to the armed forces are required.

Jeremy Quin: Defence recognises that good nutrition is fundamental to the health, wellbeing, and operational effectiveness of Service Personnel and are continually working to improve the nutritional content in ration packs.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how he will measure improvements in armed forces accommodation in the next decade.

Leo Docherty: The Single Services and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation already report on the use and quality of Defence Accommodation. With the forthcoming publication of the Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS), new Key Performance Indicators will be agreed between the People and Infrastructure areas of Defence. These will be brought together in delivery plans for the DAS to be reported on quarterly. As the DAS refreshes and evolves, these targets will become more ambitious and we will strive for greater improvements in the quality of our accommodation and how we manage it.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's timeline is for the full implementation of the Defence Accommodation Strategy.

Leo Docherty: The Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS) is wide reaching, affecting all the Services and many teams within the Ministry of Defence. Whilst Defence Accommodation is provided to support the operational readiness of the Services in the areas it is needed; this strategy encompasses more than just the 'bricks and mortar' of the estate. It is important that we support our Service People and their families, be mindful of their health and wellbeing, and create safe and supportive places to live. We have taken all these factors into consideration in creating a strategy that is meaningful and fit for purpose.The DAS is close to publication and, once published, will guide the allocation, utilisation, and quality of Defence accommodation until the conclusion of the Future Accommodation Model pilot. Therefore, the strategy looks out to 2030 but will be reviewed in light of decisions on the Future Accommodation Model pilots in 2023. Progress against its delivery will be reported annually in the Armed Forces Covenant report.

European Fighter Aircraft: Contracts

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the total value of savings from the TyTEN Typhoon support contract since its commencement.

Jeremy Quin: It is estimated that the TyTAN Typhoon support contract will save £1.2 billion across 10 years up to 2026. From that saving, over £500 million will be invested back into Typhoon capability development.

Chinook Helicopters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2022 to Question 114659 on Ministry of Defence: Assets, what his timescale is for retiring the Chinook M4 capability.

Jeremy Quin: There are now no Mk4 aircraft remaining in the current Chinook fleet. The Chinook fleet consists of Chinook Mk5, Mk6 and Mk6a aircraft. Some of the Chinook Mk6a aircraft were previously Mk4 prior to their upgrade.

Defence: Artificial Intelligence

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will publish a defence artificial intelligence strategy.

Jeremy Quin: The strategy is well advanced, and we expect to publish in the first half of 2022.

Afghanistan: Refugees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2021 to Question 80202 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many Afghans with confirmed eligibility for relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy are in Afghanistan as of 1 February 2022.

James Heappey: 1,000 ARAP principals with confirmed eligibility for relocation to the UK currently remain in Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Discharges

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military personnel have left the (a) army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) navy between 1 October 2021 and 1 February 2022.

Leo Docherty: Armed Forces Outflow statistics are published on a quarterly basis in the Quarterly Service Statistics Publication. The next quarterly edition, scheduled for publication at 09:30 on 10 March 2022, will provide the data from 1 October 2021 up to 1 January 2022. Data thereafter up to 1 February 2022 will be included in the summer release of the Quarterly Service Statistics Publication.Armed Forces outflow statistics up until 1 October 2021, by Regulars, Reserves, Service, and Rank can be found in Tables 4, 5c, 5d, 7c, 14a, 14b, and 14c therein at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2021/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-1-july-2021

Ministry of Defence: Buildings

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of the quality of defence housing on armed forces personnel morale; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) is administered annually to a sample of UK Regular Armed Forces personnel and contains measures on both morale and accommodation. AFCAS 2021 showed that 44% of the UK Regular Armed Forces rated their self-morale as high and 52% are satisfied with the overall standard of their Service accommodation.The AFCAS 2021 results can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-continuous-attitude-survey-2021Analysis for a National Audit Office report on 'Improving Single Living Accommodation' found that, in 2020, 30% of AFCAS respondents living in Single Living Accommodation (SLA) rate their morale as low and that, between 2015 and 2020, the reported level of morale among those in SLA was lower than for those in Service Family Accommodation. However, as stated above, it is not possible to identify the extent to which this was due to accommodation as opposed to other factors. That report can be found at the following link: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/improving-single-living-accommodation/

Navy: Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £40million the Royal Navy has allocated for the Future Commando Force will be spent on pay and reward for personnel.

Leo Docherty: The £40 million allocated by the Integrated Review for the Future Commando Force programme is for the development, procurement and support of capability. It does not include funding the Royal Marines Workforce.

UK Space Command: Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what budget is allocated for pay and reward for personnel to establish the Space Command.

Leo Docherty: The funding allocated to UK Space Command for Workforce for the Financial Year 2021-22 is £9.6 million.

Armed Forces: Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the terms of reference are for the comprehensive review into military pay.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the comprehensive review into military pay to be completed.

Leo Docherty: The Comprehensive Review is to examine Armed Forces (Regular and Reserve) terms and conditions of service, and recommend changes required to render them appropriate to the needs of Defence as it delivers the Integrated Operating Concept into the 2040s. The full scope of the Review, including the terms of reference, will be discussed with the Chair of the Review when formally appointed. The review is due to report in spring 2023 and will cover all financial and non-financial aspects of the military offer.

Mali: Peacekeeping Operations

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of French troops' withdrawal from Mali on British forces deployed there; and what additional assistance is being provided to those British forces in response to that withdrawal.

James Heappey: We have been supporting the French Counter Terrorism Operation BARKHANE since July 2018 through provision of a CH47 Support Helicopter detachment. As the French mission concludes, so will the UK's contribution to it.The UK's continued support to the United Nations MINUSMA mission is still being considered. Some critical enablers for the UK's continuation sit with the French force. We are discussing with other European allies whether these can be replaced.

War Pensions

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February to Question 117806, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that all those who may be eligible to make a claim are aware.

Leo Docherty: All Service leavers are made aware of the Service Leavers Guide (SLG) available on gov.uk as part of the discharge and resettlement process. The SLG details how to make a claim under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions Scheme at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/service-leavers-packInformation regarding both schemes and how to contact the veterans' welfare service is also available on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterans-uk/aboutMOD Veterans UK encourages anyone who wishes to discuss making a claim for a service-related condition under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or War Pensions Scheme to contact the Veterans UK Helpline on 0808 1914 218.

War Pensions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of time to process a war pension is as of 18 February 2022.

Leo Docherty: The average clearance time for claims between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 is due to be published as part of the War Pension Scheme Annual National Statistic on 23 June 2022.For the purposes of generating internal monthly management information to monitor performance against the Key Performance Indicator of 127 working days for War Pensions claims, Defence Business Services calculates the mean clearance time of all claims types. It should be noted that performance management information may differ from Official National Statistics when published.As of 18 February 2022, the average clearance time performance management information for all War Pension Scheme claim types was 166 working days. This is an increase on the 141 days as at 31 December 2021 given in my answer to Question 108583 on 28 January 2022, and is due to the recent clearance of a number of older cases. It is anticipated that average clearance times will now begin to fall.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans for the UK to provide (a) defensive electronic warfare capabilities, (b) anti-aircraft missiles together with associated components, (c) defensive naval weapons, (d) modern artillery and (e) reconnaissance systems to the government of Ukraine.

James Heappey: The UK remains committed to supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have already provided defensive equipment such as light, anti-armour weapons systems and, body armour.In light of the increasing threat from Russia, the UK will soon provide a further package of defence support to Ukraine. This package is being designed to enhance existing Ukrainian defence capabilities and complement those being provided by our allies and partners.

Defence Serious Crime Unit

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Defence Serious Crime Unit is fully operational.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Provost Marshal for the Defence Serious Crime Unit has been established.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff there is in his Department's Serious Crime Unit.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget is for the Defence Serious Crime Unit for its first year of operation.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the victims and witness unit within the Defence Serious Crime Unit has been established.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff members (a) does the defence serious crime unit have as of 21 February 2022 and (b) will that unit have when fully established.

Leo Docherty: The Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) will be formed by the merger of the single Service Special Investigation Branches. They will be led by the Provost Marshal Serious Crime, who was appointed in January 2022 and is leading the implementation of the DSCU through to full delivery. The DSCU is not currently operational; its implementation will be conducted in two phases with a HQ function being stood up first by April 2022, followed by operational capability by December 2022. The DSCU Project and Implementation Team undertaking this work consists of a multi-disciplinary team of seven staff from the military and civil service. Working collaboratively with the single Services, they are focussed on progressing the DSCU to full delivery, this includes working with the single Services to understand the budget requirements of the DSCU moving forward, the enduring resource requirements and operational structures. A Victim and Witness Care Unit will be delivered as part of the DSCU full operating capability.

Queen's Guards: Furs

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of phasing out the use of real bear-skin hats for the Queen’s Guard and replacing them with a faux bear-skin hat.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the Member to the answers I provided to Questions 118592 on 10 February 2022 and 87697 on 14 December 2021 respectively.Armed Forces: Furs (docx, 19.9KB)

Defence Equipment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will publish the Land Industrial Base Strategy.

Jeremy Quin: The Land Industrial Strategy marks a significant change in how the British Army intends to work with industry partners. We are taking the necessary time to make sure that the strategy is fit for purpose. The intent remains to launch the Land Industrial Strategy in the first quarter of 2022.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £1.5 million in the Defence Command Paper for improvements in Single Living Accommodation (SLA) has been designated for use to date.

Jeremy Quin: Relevant information is held by the Front Line Commands. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

LE TacCIS Programme

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original delivery date was for the Morpheus Battlefield Management Application.

Jeremy Quin: The MORPHEUS Battlefield Management Application had a planned delivery date of May 2020.

Guided Weapons: Electronic Warfare

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding plans to develop an electronic warfare variant of the SPEAR 3 missile.

Jeremy Quin: Defence endorsed the requirement for an Electronic Warfare variant missile. We have completed a Technology Demonstration Programme on this capability with our industry partners and funding for the next stage of development has been assessed.

LE TacCIS Programme

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Battlefield Management Application for the Morpheus programme has been successfully delivered to his Department.

Jeremy Quin: No it has not. The current timelines for Battlefield Management Application delivery are currently under review as they are interdependent with the delivery of the Evolve to Open (EvO) programme.

Ministry of Defence: Coronavirus

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to mandate individual risk assessments for all employees in his Department before they return to the workplace following the easing of covid-19 restrictions; and how many individual risk assessments for people returning to work have been conducted by his Department as of 21 February 2022.

James Heappey: Defence will continue to follow relevant guidance including that set out in the UK Government's Living with COVID Strategy and related plans across the UK. Risk assessments are mandatory for all Defence workplaces and have continued to be used to manage COVID-related risks throughout the pandemic.As COVID restrictions ease, managers will continue to maintain and update risk assessments to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. These arrangements have been developed in consultation with, and agreed by, the relevant trade unions. All risk assessments are undertaken locally and retained for three years, but these are not recorded or held centrally.

Nuclear Weapons: Testing

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the report to Prime Minister Churchill’s Cabinet, and minutes thereof, on the result of the British atomic test at Monte Bello in 1952, as referenced in the Official Report, 4 February 1983, vol 36 c209W, has been released under the 30-year rule.

Leo Docherty: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The British atomic test at Monte Bello in 1952 was the first test of a British atomic device and consequently there are many records on this subject. Some have been released to The National Archives, but many contain sensitive technical information about the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons programme and are retained. It has not been possible to determine which record may contain the report and minutes in question, due to the limited details on them and the time that has elapsed since the answer referenced in Official Report, 4 February 1983.

Challenger Tanks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he held discussions with the NATO Secretary General before announcing plans to reduce Challenger tank numbers by a third in the Defence Command Paper.

James Heappey: The Secretary of State for Defence spoke with the NATO Secretary General on March 17 2021 ahead of the Defence Command Paper's publication on March 22. In this call the Secretary of State set out how the planned upgrades to Challenger would make it one of the most lethal and capable tanks in Europe, enabling heavy brigades configured for divisional warfighting.

Estonia: Challenger Tanks and Warrior Armoured Vehicle

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Challenger 2s and (b) Warrior armoured vehicles are deployed in Estonia as of 23 February 2022.

James Heappey: As of 23 February 2022, there are 43 Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles and 18 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks deployed in Estonia.A further five Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles and six Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks are currently in transit to Estonia, scheduled to arrive on 25 February 2022.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Disability

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any support in addition to the energy bill rebate will be made available to disabled universal credit claimants.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of Storms (a) Dudley, (b) Eunice and (c) Franklin on the safety of workers on North Sea oil and gas installations; and if she will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Access to Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work grants have been decided in each of the last four weeks.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Access to Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of delay for Access to Work grant applications currently awaiting a decision; what proportion of those applications have been waiting for a decision for longer than six weeks; and what is the longest time for which an application of that type has been awaiting a decision.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Access to Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work grants are currently awaiting a decision.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2021, for what reason the issue with the availability of software required to process UCFS sanction decisions data was not identified prior to the migration to the new data platform.

Mims Davies: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 125429.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119672, on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, in which months the proof of concept is planned to (a) start and (b) finish in 2022; and in what parts of the country it will run.

Mims Davies: The proof of concept is due to run in Spring. As this is a small-scale test we do not plan to publish further details on timeframe or location so as to not adversely affect the proof of concept. Sites for the proof of concept are chosen in such a way that ensures we are able to assess the concept / policy under consideration.

Vocational Guidance

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many career coaches his Department has recruited; what assessment he has made of their effectiveness; and how their effectiveness is measured.

Mims Davies: Since March 2020 we achieved our commitment to recruit 13,500 Work Coaches by the end of March 2021. Our Jobcentre teams are committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstances. We operate a service delivery framework which sets out the service expectations for our Jobcentre network and the requirements for how they deliver their services. It provides information on why these expectations are set, and ways that Jobcentre leaders and Work Coaches should implement the expectations. Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants. They receive on-going learning in their roles and have access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals. Jobcentre Team Leaders are responsible for monitoring and assuring the quality of services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal.

Coronavirus Self-isolation Payment Scheme and Sick Pay

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to extend Coronavirus regulations containing measures on Statutory Sick Pay and self-isolation payments beyond March 2022.

Chloe Smith: The pandemic was an unprecedented situation. We needed people to self-isolate while protection was built up through our vaccination programme and we developed a range of new treatments. As a result, during the pandemic we made temporary changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to support people to follow COVID rules and keep others safe. The Living with Covid-19 Plan confirms that from 24 March the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 and the Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days and General Amendment) Regulations 2020 will be amended to remove the COVID-19 provisions. Pre-pandemic SSP rules will then apply. It's up to employers to determine their sick pay policies and many employers choose to pay more than the minimum level.

Sick Pay

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Prime Minister's remarks during the press conference of 21 February 2022 that the UK could learn from an established culture in Germany of greater discipline in taking time off work when sick, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on raising Statutory Sick Pay to a level equivalent to that in Germany.

Chloe Smith: The Secretary of State regularly discusses a range of issues relating to her portfolio with Cabinet colleagues. As we learn to live with Covid-19, government is continuing to take a broader look at the role of SSP and is keeping the system under review. SSP should not be looked at in isolation. Government support through the welfare system, including Universal Credit, is also available for those on low incomes who need extra financial help when they are sick or incapable of work for an extended period.

Industrial Health and Safety: Females

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what work is being done by the Health and Safety Executive towards improving protections for women workers against endocrine-disrupting chemicals; and what analysis has been undertaken on the outcomes of women workers' exposure to such chemicals.

Chloe Smith: Specific control measures exist to minimise exposure to chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties through the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) regulatory work on plant protection products (pesticides) and biocides, and through its regulatory regimes (Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)). These measures apply to all workers and they aim to reduce use and exposure to such chemicals and stimulate replacement with safer alternatives. This framework does not specifically target women’s exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). CLP classifies chemicals, including those with endocrine disrupting properties, for the intrinsic hazards they possess, and this will filter through to labels, safety data sheets and other controls in order to reduce use and exposure to such chemicals and recommend safer alternatives. Regulation 16 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) requires the risk assessment to include any risks to females of childbearing age who could become pregnant, and any risks to new and expectant mothers. These risks can be from any process, working condition or work involving physical, biological or chemical agents. No specific analysis has been undertaken by HSE on the outcomes of women workers as a result of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Universal Credit: Overpayments

Chris Loder: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on resolving universal credit overpayments in the event that the overpayment is due to an error by her Department.

David Rutley: Where Official Error overpayments do occur in a very small number of cases, the introduction of the 2012 Welfare Reform Act means that all overpayments of Universal Credit are recoverable.Where recovery is made by deduction from Universal Credit, there is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted which is currently 25% of the Standard Allowance. Moreover, a priority order is applied, which determines the order in which deductions can be made, with ‘last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, taking precedence.Anyone with overpayment deductions who does experience financial hardship is encouraged to contact the Department’s Debt Management unit. Where a person cannot afford the proposed rate, a lower amount can be negotiated.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether charities, local authorities and other third parties are permitted to contact the Risk Review Team on behalf of the claimant who has had their benefits suspended under the Risk Review Process.

David Rutley: The Risk Review Team follows standard disclosure and consent guidelines. Claimants have full access to information held on their account. If claimants feel unable to find the information or understand more complex issues, they may ask a representative to contact DWP on their behalf to obtain the information. A representative is any person or organisation acting on behalf of or making enquiries for the claimant. This can be at any stage of the claimant’s Universal Credit claim. The customer must provide explicit consent to discuss their personal data with a third party; consent can be given over the phone, in person or through their journal.

State Retirement Pensions

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department took to ensure that people who were not able to claim their deferred pension as a one-off lump sum, those who reached pension age after 6th April 2016, were aware of this change.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions carried out a comprehensive communications campaign on State Pension reforms, beginning in 2014 for the reforms which were introduced in April 2016. The campaign included advertisements in newspapers, online and on radio stations across the country as well as working through stakeholders to raise public awareness of the changes.The awareness-raising campaign directed people to a significant package of online information about the State Pension at www.gov.uk. Specific information about deferral rules can be found at www.gov.uk/deferring-state-pension/Letters inviting people to claim their State Pension also provided details of the changes to the deferral rules.

State Retirement Pensions

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department are working on the State Pension underpayment correction exercise; and if she will recruit additional staff to work on that exercise.

Guy Opperman: DWP currently has 488 members of staff working on the State Pension Correction Exercise Team and we are planning to increase resources in this area of our business throughout 2022/23.

Personal Independence Payment: Pain

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to revise the guidance for personal independence payment assessments relating to chronic pain following the updated guidance from NICE in relation to the prescribing of medication to manage these conditions.

Chloe Smith: Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed based on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. The Department does not issue specific guidance to PIP assessors on chronic pain conditions or their management. However, the PIP Assessment Guide (PIPAG) contains guidance for Health Professionals (HP) carrying out PIP assessments, including how pain and medication such as painkillers should be considered. The PIPAG is regularly updated to ensure guidance for HPs remains relevant and accurate.

Children: Maintenance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2022 to Question 119710 on Children: Maintenance, what steps her Department is taking to revise the step by step procedural instructions and training given to Child Maintenance Service caseworkers, in the context of the number of Deduction from Earnings Orders, instead of Deduction from Earnings Requests, to the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Business Services having increased between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Guy Opperman: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has introduced Modular learning products to re-enforce the correct process to follow in applying a Deduction from Earnings Request (DER). In April 2021, as part of a broader System automation improvement, there were additional education and supporting products implemented to support correct decision making, including the correct use of DERs. CMS uses Customer Insight to ensure it learns from customer experience and has used this in developing these products and building colleague conversations around adherence to procedures and the impact of not doing so. In the context of DERs, collaborative working with Ministry of Defence (MOD) through a dedicated Forces Focal point secures regular feedback to direct specific colleague upskilling and manage customer service. CMS Forces Focal Point work closely with MOD’s Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC) and has responsibility for assuring correct implementation of DERs. This includes confirming if the Paying Parent is in receipt of full pay or if they deployed on Operations. This is designed to support the successful implementation of a DER.

Social Security Benefits: National Insurance

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department records instances of a person's National Insurance Number being used as a payment reference on benefits statements as a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation; and what steps her Department is taking to protect people's data.

Guy Opperman: The Department does not record instances of a person’s National Insurance Number (NINO) being used as a payment reference on benefits statement as a breach of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). DWP provide banks with a reference up to 18 characters which for most DWP Benefits incorporates the NINO. The Department is aware that banks use the information in the exact format provided to them by DWP, but ultimately how much of it appears on the customer’s statement is the responsibility of the bank. It is also important to note that the use of the NINO in this way does not breach the Data Protection Act as customers are made aware on the claim forms that their NINO may be shown on bank / building society account statements when payments are made. The Department takes the security of citizen data very seriously and its strategy is to treat it as an asset. We continue to embed data protection and security by design – ensuring we hold ourselves to the highest security and protection standards. The Department has a suite of security policies, supported by real time risk-based controls, procedures and education and awareness products to protect customer data from inappropriate access or disclosure to unauthorised third parties.

Funeral Payments

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria to include low-income families, in addition to those receiving means-tested benefits or tax credits.

Guy Opperman: The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits. The financial assistance offered through the FEP scheme is closely targeted at those who need it most. The Government has no plans to extend the Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria.

Funeral Payments

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support available for families with funeral costs.

Guy Opperman: The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits. The scheme meets the necessary costs of a burial or cremation in full and offers up to £1000 to meet other funeral expenses such as, the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees. In April 2020, we increased the maximum amount families can claim for these additional costs by 43%, from £700 to £1000, providing vital financial support to families grieving the loss of a loved one.

Bereavement Support Payment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve awareness of the bereavement support payment.

Guy Opperman: Bereavement Support Payment provides vital support for working age people with the immediate costs following the death of a spouse or civil partner and our communications are directly targeted at this group. We have updated GOV.UK with a step-by-step guide on what to do when someone dies. This includes information on bereavement benefit eligibility and signposts to the freephone DWP Bereavement Service helpline for further support. We have also produced a leaflet to help bereaved people understand what to do after a death, including where to get help and the type of financial support available. This leaflet has been shared with funeral directors and is available to order by Registrars and voluntary groups. We continue to work with a range of external stakeholders to promote Bereavement Support Payment and to identify further opportunities to raise awareness of this benefit.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of not uprating benefits in line with inflation on levels of child poverty in Stretford and Urmston constituency.

David Rutley: No such assessment has been made. The Government is up-rating benefits in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April. The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the six years, 2014/15 to 2019/20, can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment – particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.

Funeral Payments

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for Funeral Expenses Payment were (a) made and (b) successful in each month since February 2021.

Guy Opperman: The number of Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) applications received and awards made, since February 2021 up until January 2022, is provided in the table below, for England and Wales. MonthApplications receivedAwardsFebruary 20214,8532,449*March 20214,7633,790April 20213,3922,976May 20212,8341,957June 20213,3681,912July 20212,8732,055August 20213,1781,854September 20213,4542,515October 20213,1242,114November 20213,3092,184December 20212,7491,801January 20223,0981,719 FEP data sourced from the DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS). *The FEP award figure for February 2021 is an estimate using unaudited internal DWP figures on the number of FEP loans, as this could not be sourced from the PBMIS data for February 2021.

Funeral Payments: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for applicants to the Funeral Expenses Payment is in the West Midlands since September 2021.

Guy Opperman: We cannot provide the average waiting time for applicants to the Funeral Expenses Payment on a regional level, as requested. However, Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT), for Great Britain, is reported annually in Section 4 of the Social Fund Annual Report, up to 2020/21: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021 For 2020/21, the AACT in Great Britain was 20.3 days.

Universal Credit

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has her department made on the cumulative impact on the living standards of households in receipt of universal credit of (a) not up-rating benefits in line with inflation, (b) the end of the £20 weekly uplift to universal credit and (c) the rise in living costs.

David Rutley: No assessment of the cumulative impact of these measures has been made. The Government is uprating Universal Credit in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April. The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices. Since 2010 the Government has regularly published cumulative analysis of the impacts of its tax, welfare and public spending policies on households. The most recent assessment was published at Budget 2021. It showed that, in 2021/22, the poorest 60% of households will receive more in public spending than they contribute in tax. And households in the lowest income decile will receive more than £4 in public spending for every £1 they pay in tax on average.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made on the potential effect of not uprating benefits in line with inflation on levels of child poverty in Liverpool Wavertree constituency.

David Rutley: No such assessment has been made. The Government is up-rating benefits in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April. The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the six years, 2014/15 to 2019/20, can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment – particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of not uprating benefits in line with inflation on the incomes of households in receipt of universal credit, in the context of the end to the £20 weekly uplift.

David Rutley: The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in the year to September. All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The Government is providing £12 billion of support with the cost of living, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2021, for what reasons her Department has not given an update on progress made on the suspension of benefit sanction durations data beyond the original reasons stated in the November 2020 publication of that data.

Mims Davies: Statistics for Universal Credit (UC) durations and median sanction length remain suspended, and we will continue to publish the UC rate for UC Full Service only from April 2019. This is to allow for investigations to continue into the code used to produce these statistics in order to ensure methods are robust. We will keep users updated on progress via the Benefit Sanctions statistics page, and further details are available in section 5 of the latest Benefit Sanctions statistics bulletin.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2021, on what date her Department plans to resume publication of benefit sanction durations data.

Mims Davies: Statistics for Universal Credit (UC) durations and median sanction length remain suspended, and we will continue to publish the UC rate for UC Full Service only from April 2019. This is to allow for investigations to continue into the code used to produce these statistics in order to ensure methods are robust. We will keep users updated on progress via the Benefit Sanctions statistics page, and further details are available in section 5 of the latest Benefit Sanctions statistics bulletin.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Noise: Railways and Roads

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made with the BSI to develop a standard for the calculation of road and railway noise.

Jo Churchill: The BSi Committee for Transportation Noise, which meets approximately every six months, has been working on developing a standard for the calculation of road and rail noise since 2017. To achieve this aim, the committee set up a scoping panel which reported to the committee throughout the period 2017-2020. This was followed by a joint workshop with the Institute of Acoustics (IOA). Members of the scoping panel ran a dedicated session at the annual IOA conference in October 2020 and outputs were reported in an IOA Acoustics publication. Defra is a member of both the BSi Committee for Transportation Noise and the scoping panel and continues to work collaboratively with other members as the Standard moves towards drafting stage.

Furs: Sales

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on reducing the amount of fur sold in the UK.

Jo Churchill: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Now we have left the EU, the Government is able to explore potential action in relation to animal fur, in line with the Government’s commitment to improving animal welfare standards as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. We are reviewing the evidence gathered both from our Call for Evidence and wider engagement with the fur trade and stakeholders, and a summary of responses will be published soon.

Engineering and Flood Control

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which flood protection schemes or engineering works are (a) under construction and (b) at the planning or other stage of development, by (i) the expected completion date, (ii) the number of properties that will be protected and (iii) the (A) initial forecast and (B) final expected cost of each.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency publishes the programme of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) schemes here: https://environment.data.gov.uk/asset-management/downloads/capital-projects.csv. This is based on the best information available at time of publication (July 2021).The latest refresh of the capital investment programme for 2022/23 will be published on gov.uk in due course.

Flood Control: Bury North

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided for the improvement flood defences in Bury North constituency.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has provided £26.43 million for the improvement of flood defences in Bury North. This is the capital investment in flood risk management schemes/projects covering the period from 2012 – 2023. £15.19 million of this was spent up to March 2021, £11.24 million has been allocated in the current financial year, and £2.6 million is allocated in the programme for 2022/23.

Nature Conservation: Urban Areas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the benefits to biodiversity of wildlife corridors; and what steps he has taken to introduce them to urban areas.

Rebecca Pow: Our 25 Year Environment Plan, published in 2018, signalled a step change in the Government’s ambition for wildlife and the natural environment and included a commitment to establish a Nature Recovery Network. Building on the recommendations of Sir John Lawton’s landmark ‘Making Space for Nature’ report, this Network will be a bigger, better quality and increasingly connected network of places that are richer in wildlife, supporting the recovery of our species and more resilient to climate change and other pressures. Connectivity is a critical component of this Network. Wildlife corridors can help to ensure that additional newly created or restored wildlife-rich habitat is joined-up, including where it lies close to or within urban areas. Improving the condition and connectivity of our wildlife habitats will help to ensure that species survive in their existing locations and, where necessary, will allow them to move towards more suitable areas in response to ecological pressures such as climate change. Through the Environment Act, we are putting in place Local Nature Recovery Strategies to ensure we establish habitat in the best place for wildlife and the wider environment and effectively target our activity.

Pigmeat: Supply Chains

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food's oral contribution to the Food and farming in Devon and Cornwall Westminster Hall Debate on 23 February 2022, under what circumstances his Department would refer a business in the pork supply chain to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Victoria Prentis: The Government is committed to tackling the unfairness that can exist in the agri-food supply chain. Powers in the Agriculture Act allow us to introduce statutory codes of conduct which increase the transparency of business relationships and protect farmers from imbalanced commercial terms.In the coming months we are launching a public consultation exploring how fairness and transparency can be improved in the pork sector. As part of this consultation process, we will gather evidence about market consolidation in the sector. If the consultation response indicates consolidation may be having an adverse effect on competition in the pork sector, these concerns could be raised with the Competition and Markets Authority.The Government will continue to work closely with the pork sector to discuss any supply chain issues and any regulations will be developed alongside industry with the close involvement of stakeholders.

Hunting

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of trail hunting on privately-owned land; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has made no assessment of trail hunting on private land. Giving permission for trail hunting is a matter for the landowner.The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.

Landscape Recovery Scheme

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Landscape Recovery scheme pilot will also include blocks of land that are hydrologically connected, rather than contiguous, to assess how to maximise the benefits of floodplain restoration, including sustainable regenerative farming.

Victoria Prentis: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The first round of Landscape Recovery is open to bids from projects of 500 to 5,000 hectares of broadly contiguous land. The application process for this round will be competitive and bids will be assessed against set criteria. The environmental outcomes that projects will deliver will be assessed as part of the environmental objectives criterion. As part of this criterion, we will assess a range of benefits which could be delivered by floodplain restoration, including for biodiversity, resilience to extreme weather events and improving water quality. Contiguity is important for many of the environmental outcomes we are seeking. However, we recognise that habitats and land ownership in England are sometimes fragmented, so we will take a pragmatic approach to contiguity. Project areas can have some gaps, but applicants should demonstrate how any gaps will not compromise their project’s environmental outcomes. This will be assessed as part of the ‘project leadership and delivery’ criterion. We are not ruling out projects which include elements of farming in the landscape. However, projects that are mainly focused on sustainable and regenerative farming or making space for nature in the farmed landscape are likely to be better suited to other schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, the Sustainable Farming Incentive and, in due course, Local Nature Recovery.

Hunting: Regulation

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to end trail hunting on government-owned land.

Rebecca Pow: Our manifesto was clear that no changes will be made to the Hunting Act. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.Issuing a license or giving permission for trail hunting is an operational matter for the landowner and those organisations with a land lease or agreement in place for government land.

Plants: Export Controls

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure free movement of cultivated plant biodiversity.

Victoria Prentis: UK plant health controls take a risk-based approach informed by the evidence and balance ensuring robust biosecurity with the facilitation of trade. The threat from plant pests and diseases is significant and growing due to globalisation and climate change. The increase in trade and travel has resulted in an escalation in the volume and diversity of plants and plant products entering the UK from sources across the world. These plant imports can act as hosts or vectors and are one of the primary ways in which new pests and diseases can be introduced. High plant health and biosecurity standards keep harmful pests and diseases, like Xylella fastidiosa, out of the UK, benefiting both the horticultural trade and the environment in the long term. The UK has some of the highest plant health and biosecurity standards in the world, and we have been clear we will not compromise on these standards. They are integral to supporting and protecting the horticultural industry overall as well as sustaining our food supply and natural environment. The UK Plant Health Risk Group is continuously reviewing risks to plant biosecurity and identifying actions needed to mitigate the most significant threats. These include keeping our regulatory regime up to date, carrying out focused surveillance and inspections, contingency planning, research, and awareness raising as well as identifying areas where intervention would not be helpful or justified. Further, the UK is a member of both: o the OECD Seed Schemes which provide harmonised standards for the international trade of seed of regulated plant species for agriculture, ando the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme which ensures Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) is produced, controlled and traded according to harmonised standards. The EU has granted equivalence to the UK for agricultural seed (excluding production of vegetable seed), fruit and vegetable propagating material, and forest reproductive material (FRM), ensuring these commodities may be marketed in the EU. The UK Plant Health Information Portal has published Defra guidance to importers and exporters of plant material to support trade facilitation.

Water Charges: Ashfield

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for Severn Trent water rate costs for consumers increasing by 7 per cent in Ashfield compared to 3 to 4 per cent across the UK; and what steps his Department is taking reduce those increased costs.

Rebecca Pow: Severn Trent's increase in their water charges relates to several factors, including an increase in the rate of inflation, new investment to support green economic recovery and revenue adjustments, which corrects previous cost and revenue estimates. These costs and adjustments are in line with the revenue controls set by the regulator, Ofwat, for all water companies. Ofwat carefully scrutinises water company investments to ensure value for customer money.We expect all companies to make sure their customers are aware of the schemes available for those struggling to pay their bills. That includes bill discount schemes such as Watersure and social tariffs, payment holidays, adjusting payment plans and getting support for customers on managing their personal finances.

Biodiversity: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the loss of biodiversity in the Romford area in the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: No assessment of biodiversity loss, specific to the Romford area, has been made.Assessments of biodiversity are published at the national level, with the latest England Biodiversity Indicators being published in October 2021. These highlighted some positive signs for our environment and wildlife, including a number of successes in the recovery of species which can be found in the southeast, such as our native bats and birds like the bittern. However, there remain huge ongoing pressures on the country’s biodiversity and many of our native species are in decline, with abundance of some of the UK’s most threatened species having fallen by 61% since 1970, which is why we must continue to act to restore and enhance nature.Towards this ambition, the Environment Act will set a new legally binding target to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030, as well as introducing Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Natural England is working with partners in the London Borough of Havering (which includes Romford) to improve wildlife through the five Land Management schemes, improving management of the three Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and advising protected sites and advising the local authority on how planning decisions can conserve and improve wildlife.

Local Nature Recovery Scheme

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environmental Land Management Local Nature Recovery scheme will support (a) floodplain restoration and (b) other measures on productive land.

Victoria Prentis: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Local Nature Recovery scheme will pay for locally targeted actions to make space for nature in the farmed landscape and the wider countryside, alongside food production. This could include, for example, managing and creating habitats, adding trees to fields, or restoring peat, wetland areas or flood plains in appropriate areas of a farm. We set out more information on the themes Local Nature Recovery will initially pay for in the January 2022 Policy Paper on Local Nature Recovery. We will publish more details on the full list of land management activities the scheme will pay for later this year.

Horticulture: Regional Planning and Development

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential role of horticulture, including national plant collections, parks and gardens in delivering the Government's levelling up agenda from a cultural perspective.

Rebecca Pow: Defra is leading the £5.77 million cross-Governmental project to test and evaluate green social prescribing in seven test and learn sites and to run national research work to understand its scalability. This can include the prescribing of gardening projects and activities in parks. We have also committed to treble tree planting rates in England, and bring trees closer to people, through trees on streets, in parks and urban orchards, supported through the Urban Tree Challenge and Local Authority Treescape Funds. In addition, Defra and Natural England are working with other partners and stakeholders to develop a Green Infrastructure Framework. This will show what good green infrastructure looks like, including parks, woodlands and community food growing. In order to support all these initiatives, we will need a thriving horticulture sector to provide the necessary plants, flowers and trees, and we are looking at the opportunities and barriers that the horticulture sector faces to support sustainable growth in the sector, so that more of our plants and flowers can be sourced from our own domestic growers. On national plant collections, Defra has also committed to funding a £15 million project to digitise a significant proportion of the Herbarium at Kew Gardens. The Herbarium is the world’s largest collection of plant and fungal specimens, with specimens collected over 170 years, including those collected by Charles Darwin. The significant injection of government funding will protect irreplaceable samples from deterioration and allow researchers from across the country and the globe to access the historic collection, help conserve nature and find solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing humanity.

Plants: Export Controls

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the proportionality of the plant health regulatory regime for the import of seeds, plants and trees; and whether he has plans to revise that regulatory regime.

Victoria Prentis: High plant health and biosecurity standards keep harmful pests and diseases, like Xylella fastidiosa, out of the UK, benefiting both the horticultural trade and the environment in the long term. The UK has some of the highest plant health and biosecurity standards in the world, and we have been clear we will not compromise on these standards. They are integral to supporting and protecting the horticultural industry overall as well as sustaining our food supply and natural environment. The UK Plant Health Risk Group is continuously reviewing risks to plant biosecurity and identifying actions needed to mitigate the most significant threats. These include keeping our regulatory regime up to date, carrying out focused surveillance and inspections, contingency planning, research, and awareness raising as well as identifying areas where intervention would not be helpful or justified. Since plant health controls on high-priority plants and plant products imported from the EU to GB were introduced on 1 January 2021, 94 interceptions of harmful organisms have been made, which all had the potential to lead to a damaging outbreak in GB. In addition, more than 300 other instances of non-compliance have been identified. These cases demonstrate the importance of effective import controls to safeguard commercial plant production; protect food supply and avoid the serious impacts on our natural environment which pest/disease outbreaks can lead to. We have recently consulted on a permanent system of import checks and frequencies which will deal with imports from EU Member States and other third countries consistently. This system is based on technical assessments of risk and retains the default position of 100% inspections for imported plants and trees. However, it also considers cases where a lower percentage of checks can be adopted for certain categories of plants where there is an identifiable lower risk (examples could be annual plants, because they are short lived, or house plants, because they are kept indoors). The consultation closed in early 2022 and we expect to update stakeholders on the outcome of this consultation in March.

Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) level of local government or (b) public body or bodies are responsible for the enforcement of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006.

Jo Churchill: Local authorities are responsible for enforcement where any non-compliance with the animal welfare in transport rules is found and will take prosecution action when serious welfare issues relating to the transport of live animals are identified. The level of local government undertaking enforcement may vary between areas, based on a locally agreed division of responsibilities between the tiers of local government. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) acts as a national regulator for the welfare of animals in transport rules and is able to take regulatory action following non-compliance by transporters. APHA works closely with its local authority enforcement partners to support enforcement action and prosecution of those involved in breaches of the welfare in transport legislation.

Welfare at Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) level of local government or (b) public body or bodies are responsible for the enforcement of the Welfare at Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015.

Jo Churchill: The Welfare at Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 are enforced by Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and local authorities. The FSA has official veterinarians present in slaughterhouses to monitor and enforce animal welfare at slaughter. APHA and local authority inspectors appointed under the regulations are responsible for monitoring and enforcement of requirements outside of a slaughterhouse, such as killing on farm or in a knacker’s yard. The level of local government undertaking enforcement may vary between areas, based on a locally agreed division of responsibilities between the tiers of local government.

Fires: Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies on air pollution of the finding of the study, The Contribution of Domestic Outdoor Burning to UK Particulate Emissions by Dr Josh Cottam and Dr Edward Mitchell, and in particular how to reduce outdoor burning in order to reduce overall PM2.5 emissions.

Jo Churchill: We have not made a formal assessment of the report at this stage. We continue to undertake regular monitoring of new evidence and emission sources of air pollutants to inform future policy.

Plants: UK Trade With EU

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to establish a plant health agreement with the EU for the export of seeds, plants and trees.

Victoria Prentis: Defra is not looking to establish a specific plant health agreement with the EU The Trade and Cooperation Agreement includes a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter which allows the UK and the EU to take a risk-based approach to our respective SPS border controls and provides a basis for cooperation on avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade. A key part of this is the Trade Specialised Committee, which is tasked with regularly reviewing the Parties' SPS measures, including certification requirements and border clearance processes, and their application, in order to facilitate trade between the Parties. We are open to discussions with the EU on additional steps to further reduce trade friction, but these cannot be on the basis of future alignment with EU rules. This would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws.

Cats: Animal Welfare

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take legislative steps to provide the equivalent levels of protection for cats following the publication of the provisions in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill relating to dogs.

Jo Churchill: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021. The Bill includes new restrictions on pet movements into Great Britain, which covers the non-commercial movements of cats as well as dogs and ferrets. The Bill also contains powers to restrict the import of cats, dogs and ferrets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. Overall, the number of movements of cats into Great Britain is much lower than for dogs.The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.The Bill also includes a new offence of taking and detaining a dog as part of our response to a recommendation made by the Pet Theft Taskforce. The new offence, which was added to the Bill at its Commons Committee stage, is initially limited to the abduction of dogs in recognition of the Taskforce’s finding that seven out of 10 pet abductions in England and Wales involved dogs. However, the Bill also includes a power to extend the offence to other pets, including cats, if necessary.

Horticulture: Government Assistance

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support companies in the horticultural sector to (a) expand, (b) develop skills and (c) improve business management.

Victoria Prentis: The Government is taking a number of steps to support companies in the horticulture sector. In November, Defra launched the Farming Investment Fund which provides grants to farmers and horticultural growers to improve their businesses and bring further environmental benefits. The schemes have proved incredibly popular with unprecedented levels of demand. We are keen to support farmers and horticultural producers during this period of Agricultural Transition and help drive business growth. As a result, we have responded by approving a significant budget increase for round one of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund from £21 million to £48.5 million. We hope this is well received by the horticulture sector and helps provide further access to funding for those who wish to take up the offer of grant funding support. We will continue to support Research and Development in the horticulture and wider agricultural sectors going forward, for example, through the Farming Innovation Programme. Furthermore, the Government is contributing towards the establishment of a new professional body, the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture. This initiative is aimed at removing the fragmentation that exists within current learning and skills landscape for farming businesses, enabling the industry to drive forward greater uptake of skills (including basic business management), creating clear career development pathways and promoting the sector as a progressive, professional and attractive career choice. The Government is also working with industry bodies to improve access to the talent and skills required within the industry and we are taking action through our apprenticeship programme and post-16 Skills Plan to reform technical education and new Careers Strategy. The Government’s new ‘Help to Grow’ scheme will help small business across the UK learn new skills, reach new customers and boost profits. Help to Grow: Management aims to deliver an intensive leadership and management training programme to up to 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK to improve SME leadership and management skills and address firm-level productivity challenges. The programme has been developed in partnership with industry and is designed to be manageable alongside full-time work. It combines a practical curriculum with 1:1 support from a business mentor, peer-learning sessions and an alumni network, equipping SMEs with the tools to grow their businesses. The programme is delivered by leading business schools across the UK and is 90% subsidised by the Government, with participants contributing £750.

Electronic Training Aids

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ban e-collars.

Jo Churchill: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. One of the key reforms in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare is to ban hand-held remote-controlled electronic training collars (“e-collars”), given their scope to harm the welfare of dogs, including those deemed reactive. We continue to work closely with the animal welfare sector, enforcement agencies and Governments across the four nations on this ban. The ban will be made via secondary legislation under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The legislation needed to ban remote controlled electronic training collars in England will be laid before Parliament as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food: Supply Chains

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of food and drink demand (a) currently and (b) in April 2022; and what steps he plans to take to ensure supply chain resilience during periods of high demand for food and drink.

Victoria Prentis: Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production, as well as imports through stable trade routes. The capability, levers, and expertise to respond to disruption lie with the food and drink industry sectors who have highly resilient supply chains, responsive to changes in demand. They are well equipped to deal with potentially disruptive situations as we have seen throughout the COVID-19 response. The UK Government has well-established ways of working with the industry and with the Devolved Administrations to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. The Government monitors consumer food prices using the Consumer Prices Index (including Housing Costs) (CPIH) and will continue to do so as changes are made in the next financial year. The latest published statistics show annual food and drink inflation as 4.4 per cent in the year to January 2022, up from 4.2 per cent in the year to December 2021. The CPIH month-on-month food and drink inflation rate was 0.7 per cent between December 2021 and January 2022, down from 1.3 per cent between November and December 2021. Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Change in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors. The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes, providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next, to help families with the cost of living.

Crops

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2021 to Question 137274 on Hemp, what progress he has made on the project on the potential use of underutilised, underdeveloped or novel crops, including hemp.

Jo Churchill: This research project, “Review of opportunities for diversifying UK agriculture through investment in underutilised crops,” is now underway.

Deposit Return Schemes: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the report by Reconomy Group, Valpak on the impact of a deposit return scheme on carbon and other emissions.

Jo Churchill: We consulted on proposals for a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in 2021. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation. We continue to consider the studies and research conducted both within and outside of Government with a view to their findings helping inform our policies where appropriate. A Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Noise: Roads

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will provide details of its work with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on issuing guidance in support of the National Planning Policy Framework in respect of noise, as set out in the Noise Action Plan: Roads.

Jo Churchill: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is responsible for the development of the National Planning Policy Framework.Defra will continue to engage with DLUHC to provide advice and guidance on environmental noise issues, to ensure it is considered within the Government's planning policies and future projects.

Noise

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to update the Department’s 2019 Noise mapping action plan.

Jo Churchill: Yes. Defra is required to produce strategic noise maps and subsequent action planning under the terms of the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006, every five years. Work has commenced on the strategic noise maps, which will be followed by the noise action plans.

Paint: Recycling and Waste Disposal

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to (a) reduce the quantity of unused paint being sent to landfill or for incineration and (b) help ensure the necessary recycling infrastructure is in place to facilitate reuse and remanufacture of unused paint.

Jo Churchill: The law at present encourages reuse and recycling through waste hierarchy obligations on all waste handlers. We welcome the voluntary action being taken by industry, such as the British Coatings Federation (BCF)'s PaintCare proposals, and community initiatives, supported by local authorities, to allow donations to local community repaint schemes. I will be meeting with the BCF in early March to find out more about their proposed scheme. To strengthen action on reuse, we will shortly publish our new Waste Prevention Programme for England, on which we consulted in 2021, including on steps to improve local systems and services that facilitate reuse and recycling of this nature.

Electronic Training Aids

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, whether he plans to undertake a further consultation on potential merits of a ban on e-collars.

Jo Churchill: One of the key reforms in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare is to ban hand-held remote-controlled electronic training collars (“e-collars”), given their scope to harm the welfare of dogs, including those deemed reactive. We continue to work closely with the animal welfare sector, enforcement agencies and Governments across the four nations on this ban.We have listened carefully to a range of views from pet owners and respondents, as well as consulting key stakeholders including animal welfare charities, e-collar manufacturers, and trainers who use e-collars. Defra ran a public consultation in 2018 on the proposed ban on e-collars for cats and dogs in England. A summary of the responses received can be found here; Animal welfare: banning the use of electronic training collars for cats and dogs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).With reference to the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill there are currently no plans to undertake a further consultation on a ban on e-collars. Powers already exist to ban e-collars under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The secondary legislation needed to ban remote controlled electronic training collars will be laid before Parliament as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Pet Travel Scheme: Dogs

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2012 to 2021.

Jo Churchill: The number of dogs imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2017 to 2021 are as follows: YearNumber of Dogs20172870162018312996201930726320201635622021162923 In line with data retention the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not hold data prior to 2017 so previous years have not been supplied. The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals. The information provided is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into the pets returns by a third party.

Home Office

Electric Scooters: Fires

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken monitoring of fires caused by e-scooters in (a) single owned properties, (b) privately owned properties in multiple occupation and (c) social housing properties in multiple occupation.

Damian Hinds: E-scooters are not one of the response categories for causes of fires in the Incident Recording System (IRS). As such the Home Office cannot currently break down the number of fires caused by e-scooters in the settings requested.

Electric Scooters: Storage

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department plans to issue to housing associations and local authorities on the safe storage of e-scooters in the context of recent fires involving those scooters.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office has a programme to update Fire Safety Order guidance which will reflect the latest legislative and policy positions when they are published over the next year to support the regulations to implement Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations and the fire safety changes planned through Building Safety Bill.While existing guidance does not have information on e-scooters, as these have come into usage since they were developed, London Fire Brigade has issued some guidance through a press release on how to use and store them safety from a fire safety perspective. We will look to work this advice into updated guidance where appropriate.The advice is available here:London Fire Brigade backs TfL ban on dangerous private e-scooters on London’s transport network | London Fire Brigade (london-fire.gov.uk)

Asylum: Applications

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for an individual's asylum claim in January (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office are unable to report how many individual asylum claims have been processed and approved in each month of the last five years as this information is not recorded and held in a reportable format, however we do publish data on the percentage of asylum applications processed within 6 months of the date of claim and can be found at Asy_01 of the Asylum Transparency Data January 2022:Immigration and protection data: Q3 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The Home Office also publish data on asylum initial decisions outcomes which can be found at Asy_D02 of the Immigration Statistics September 2021:Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk):

Children in Care: Migrants

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of eligible children in the care system who have not yet been granted settled status.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office continues to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor their progress in making and supporting applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) on behalf of eligible looked after children and care leavers. The latest survey indicates that, as of 30 November 2021, of the 3,895 looked after children and care leavers identified by the survey as potentially eligible to apply, 3,705 applications to the EUSS had been received (95%). 2,840 (77%) of these applications had been decided, of which 2,245 (79%) had resulted in a grant of settled status and 420 (15%) in a grant of pre-settled status. The full survey can be found at: EU Settlement Scheme: looked-after children and care leavers survey 2020 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Members: Correspondence

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 1 November 2021, case number MP72287 on delays in processing passport renewal applications.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 16 February 2022.

Asylum: Interviews

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many digital asylum interviews have taken place; and what process is in place to assess the adequacy of the digital interview format.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office are unable to state the number of digital asylum interviews which have taken place as this information it is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.The Home Office has successfully used video technology to support remote interviewing for more than three years and has appropriate operating procedures which are designed to ensure participants are able to give the best account of their circumstances when it is used.We are also able to offer in person interviews for those seeking asylum if requested or required where additional needs are presented.

Visas: Seasonal Workers

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to make available the additional 10,000 visas under the seasonal worker visa scheme.

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria need to be met for her Department to bring into effect the additional 10,000 visas in 2022 under the seasonal worker visa scheme.

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timeframe is for bringing into effect the additional 10,000 visas under the seasonal worker visa scheme following her Department having evidence that those visas are needed.

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the seasonal worker visa scheme from six to nine months.

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what analysis her Department has undertaken to support its position that the seasonal worker visa route may no longer be needed past 2024.

Kevin Foster: The Seasonal Worker visa route has been extended until the end of 2024, at which point the position will be reviewed. This does not mean we expect there to be no reliance on overseas labour at this point, but the sector cannot be in the same position as it is now. The number of visas will begin to taper down from 2023, as the government is encouraging all sectors to adapt and make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology. To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and DWP to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among resident workers. This year will see up to 30,000 temporary visas available, but this will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 if there is strong evidence to do so. Releasing additional quota places does not require a legislative change. There are no plans to extend the grant period for Seasonal Workers to nine months.

Asylum and Migrants: Healthy Start Scheme

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the availability and accessibility of Healthy Start vouchers for people within the immigration and asylum systems.

Kevin Foster: Asylum seekers are provided with accommodation and support to meet their essential living needs if they would otherwise be destitute. They are given free, furnished accommodation, and a weekly cash allowance (currently £40.85) to cover other essential living needs such as clothing. In addition to this support, asylum seekers who are pregnant and young children aged between one year and three years each receive an additional £3 per week. Babies under one year receive an additional £5 per week. Asylum seekers who are pregnant are also eligible to apply for a one-off £300 maternity payment within eight weeks of their due date or if their baby is under six weeks old. These payments are intended to allow supported asylum seekers to purchase healthy food such as fruit and vegetables.

Home Office: Recruitment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many positions have been recruited under the transformation and business improvement initiatives at the Home Office.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Economic Crime: Criminal Investigation

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many investigations the National Crime Agency has conducted into criminal financial sanctions breaches for each year in the last three years.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

EU Nationals: Immigration

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) that EU Settled Status applications are efficiently processed and (b) that applicants are able to contact UKVI in an effective and timely manner.

Kevin Foster: We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand. Our aim is to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as quickly as possible, yet each individual case is considered on its own facts. Cases may take longer dependent on the circumstances of the case, for example, if the applicant is facing an impending prosecution or has a criminal record. The following link details the expected processing times for EU Settlement Scheme applications:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-application-processing-times/eu-settlement-scheme-pilot-current-expected-processing-times-for-applications Anyone awaiting the outcome of their in-time application to the EUSS can evidence their rights with their Certificate of Application which is issued as soon as possible after a valid application is receivedApplicants can contact UKVI by calling our Settlement Resolution Centre (SRC) which is open 7 days a week. Customers can also contact us using an on-line enquiry form.Further information can also be found at www.gov.uk/help-eu-settlement-scheme

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for Warley of 19 November 2021 regarding Enri Qoraj.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 16 February 2022.

Asylum: Housing

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy or guidance is on the number of bags of belongings that people housed in asylum accommodation may keep with them when being transferred to new accommodation; and if she will publish that guidance.

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the High Court judgment, EWHC 2514 of 4 October 2021 by issuing backdated payments to asylum-seekers accommodated in hotels.

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has carried out an equality impact assessment on her Department’s policy, as set out in Chapter 14 of the guidance Asylum Support: Policy Bulletins Instruction, to limit the amount of items people in asylum accommodation are allowed to have with them, with particular regard to the potential equalities impacts on children and families.

Kevin Foster: An overarching Policy Equality Statement was updated in 2020 as part of the establishment of the ‘Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation’ which can be found on Gov.uk.Accommodation providers have responsibility for transporting possessions when asylum seekers are moved from one address to another. The policy on ‘possessions’ belonging to an asylum seeker who is supported by the Home Office is set out in Chapter 14 of the Asylum Support: Policy Bulletins Instruction, which is also on Gov.uk.Work to ascertain backdated payments following the High Court judgment, EWHC 2514 of 4 October 2021 is currently being undertaken.

Asylum: Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many hotels and (b) in what locations does her Department currently have agreements with to provide accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office currently has four hotel sites available to temporarily accommodate unaccompanied asylum seeking children whilst placements with local authorities are being vigorously pursued via the now mandatory National Transfer Scheme.These sites are situated along the south coast in close proximity to arrival locations.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an impact assessment has been undertaken by her Department on its decision to stop providing Afghan refugees staying in hotels with free access to non-basic toiletries and over-the-counter medication.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Afghan refugees who have been placed in hotels are claiming universal credit.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what date she estimates that all Afghan refugees currently in hotels will have been moved into permanent accommodation.

Victoria Atkins: The UK Government undertook the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, helping over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan. Due to the scale and pace of the evacuation we were not able to source appropriate accommodation in the normal way, so we have had to use hotels as a temporary measure.We do not want to keep families or individuals in temporary accommodation any longer than they need to be. It is important that they move into more permanent settled accommodation so that they can begin to rebuild their lives here in the UK. Over 4000 Afghans have already moved, or are in the process of being moved, into their permanent accommodation.We are grateful to those local authorities who have already stepped forward to offer accommodation and we would like to encourage those local authorities who have not yet pledged support to consider offering to do so.Afghans still temporarily accommodated in hotels are provided with meals and have access to healthcare, education, as well as support to seek employment opportunities or claim Universal Credit.Until 11th February 2022 as well as accommodation and meals, additional items such as non-essential toiletries and over-the-counter medication were provided free of charge to guests in hotels as an interim measure before the grant of Universal Credit to them. However, these items are no longer being provided for those guests who are in receipt of Universal Credit. It is expected that the provision of Universal Credit will cover the cost of these items. This is in line with the approach taken to those in the UK population in receipt of Universal Credit. Meals, baby milk and baby food will continue to be provided.

Migrants: Travel Requirements

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of migrants arriving in the UK since 2019 have arrived without travel documents.

Tom Pursglove: Border Force does not hold the data requested in an accessible format.

Visas: Domestic Service

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on reviewing the Overseas Domestic Worker visa; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that relevant civil society actors can participate in that review.

Kevin Foster: The effectiveness of visa arrangements for Overseas Domestic Workers continues to be under review. We plan to engage with non-governmental organisations and expert practitioners in spring in order to modernise and make improvements to the route.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 26 October 2021, case number MP72139 on delays relating to an application for a replacement passport.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 21 February 2022.

Visas

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the review into Tier 1 Investor visas, announced on 26 March 2018.

Kevin Foster: On 17 February the Home Secretary laid a Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules closing the Tier 1 (Investor) route to new entrants with immediate effect.The review of historic applications under the route is being finalised and it is our aim to publish it in the near future.

Asylum: Nationality

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) what the five most common nationalities of asylum applicants making fresh claims to the UK in 2021 were and (b) how many fresh asylum applications were received by the UK from nationals of each of those five countries in 2021.

Kevin Foster: (121813) Our records indicate that a total of 6,760 Further Submissions in support of fresh applications for asylum were lodged in the United Kingdom in 2021.(121814) The five most common nationalities that lodged Further Submissions in support of fresh applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 2021 were:Iraq1,179Afghanistan921Pakistan519Iran497China455

Asylum

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many new asylum applications were submitted by individuals who had previously been refused asylum in the UK in 2021.

Kevin Foster: (121813) Our records indicate that a total of 6,760 Further Submissions in support of fresh applications for asylum were lodged in the United Kingdom in 2021.(121814) The five most common nationalities that lodged Further Submissions in support of fresh applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 2021 were:Iraq1,179Afghanistan921Pakistan519Iran497China455

Travel Requirements

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the processing time is for a travel document from her Department.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to speed up the time taken by her Department to process travel documents.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the time set out in her Department's service standards is for processing a travel document.

Kevin Foster: 1) & 3) The standard published processing time for Travel Document applications is 14 weeks. The average current processing time is 11 weeks and 2 days for initial consideration of applications and over 80% of applications are being completed within 14 weeks. Those applications not meeting the service standard are normally awaiting further information from the applicant. 2) COVID and the work from home restrictions have affected our ability to maintain performance against the service standard due to the previous paper-based nature of the application process. To mitigate those impacts we have moved to an online application system, reengineered our internal processes, recruited additional staff and expanded our operation to a second office to ease the effect of regional staff absences. These changes have improved our performance against the service standard, a trend which will continue.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to case reference NC24802, what recent steps her Department has taken to make support available to British citizens to be reunited with family who remain in Afghanistan.

Kevin Foster: Family members of British citizens and settled persons, including those with humanitarian protection in the UK, who were not called forward for evacuation as part of Op PITTING, or who have not been offered resettlement under the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, are able to apply to come to the UK under the existing economic or family migration and reunion rules.The British Embassy in Kabul has currently suspended in country operations and all UK diplomatic and consular staff have been temporarily withdrawn.The UK is working with international partners to secure safe routes out of Afghanistan as soon as they become available, but while the security situation remains extremely volatile, we recommend people in Afghanistan do not make applications and pay application fees at this time as they will not be considered until biometrics are provided. Those Afghans who are outside of Afghanistan and able to get to a Visa Application Centre to provide their biometrics can make an application in the usual way.A full policy statement on this matter published on 13 September 2021 can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement-accessible-version

Knives: Crime

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on reducing the level of knife crime.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is committed to reducing knife crime, this why we have invested £130.5 million over the last year to tackle serious violence.This includes £35.5 million for Violence Reduction Units which draw key partners together to address the root causes of violence, and £30 million for targeted police action to deter and disrupt knife crime.

Offences against Children

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department's policies on tackling child sexual abuse include sibling sexual abuse.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse, including intra-familial abuse.We fund the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse who have produced specific guidance on responding to sibling sexual abuse, and fund Rape Crisis England and Wales to provide support to victims and survivors of sibling sexual abuse.

Metropolitan Police: Stop and Search

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of Metropolitan Police stop and search practices on Black and ethnic minority communities.

Kit Malthouse: The Government supports the fair use of stop and search. It is a vital tool to target violent crime and protect communities.No one should be subject to stop and search because of their race and numerous safeguards including statutory codes of practice, body-worn video and extensive publicly available data collection exist to prevent this.

Theft

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on reducing levels of burglary and robbery.

Kit Malthouse: This Government recognises the devastating impact crimes such as burglary and robbery have on our communities and businesses.We are recruiting 20,000 police officers and continuing to invest in the Safer Streets Fund to prevent these crimes from happening, supporting deployment of evidence-based solutions such as home security and increased street lighting in high crime areas.

Cybercrime

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of crime committed online.

Damian Hinds: By volume, most crime is now wholly or partially online, a trend further accelerated by the pandemic.The Online Safety Bill, Fraud Action Plan and National Economic Crime Centre are among the key elements of the fight against it.

Cybercrime and Fraud

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of crimes of fraud and computer misuse on UK businesses and consumers.

Damian Hinds: Reports of fraud and computer misuse offences are made to Action Fraud and are recorded as criminal offences by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). The Home Office collects data on these reports. This data is published by the Office for National Statistics on a quarterly basis.The latest breakdown of fraud and computer misuse offences is available from June 2015 to June 2021 in table A5 below:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables

Public Spaces Protection Orders

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the minimum consultation period length is for a Public Space Protection Order for the prevention of repetitive nuisance and disorder experienced by local residents.

Kit Malthouse: There are no statutory requirements on the length of the consultation process.It should, however, give sufficient time to engage meaningfully with the relevant bodies and community representatives that the local authority thinks it is appropriate to consult.

Undocumented Migrants

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the legal implications of escorting illegal migrant ships to their previous country in the event that those ships do not land on UK shores.

Tom Pursglove: These powers allow Border Force to make wider use of new operational techniques in development, enabling vessels used by illegal migrants to be stopped from heading towards the UK shore.In addition, if intercepted in UK seas, these new powers will enable a migrant vessel to be stopped in international waters as well and diverted away from UK seas with the intention of encouraging the vessels to return to the country their journey started in.Any action taken by officers in the purported use of these new maritime powers must be in accordance with the provisions of the Human Rights Act. All operational officers receive relevant training before being able to exercise their duties and powers and must in any event exercise those powers in accordance with the Human Rights Act.

Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships: Telephone Services

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending registration of deaths by telephone following the expiration of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Kevin Foster: Regulations have been introduced which will allow information to be collected by telephone before attendance at a register office to formally register a death.The General Register Office for England and Wales is exploring options to bring forward amendments to primary legislation to allow for registration by telephone to be completed in the future.

Asylum: Applications

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individual asylum claims her Department has (a) processed and (b) approved in each month of the last five years.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office are unable to report how many individual asylum claims have been processed and approved in each month of the last five years as this information is not recorded and held in a reportable format, however we do publish data on the percentage of asylum applications processed within 6 months of the date of claim and can be found at Asy_01 of the Asylum Transparency Data January 2022:Immigration and protection data: Q3 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The Home Office also publish data on asylum initial decisions outcomes which can be found at Asy_D02 of the Immigration Statistics September 2021:Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk):

Asylum

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individual asylum claims her Department received in each month of the last five years.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications raised are published in table Asy_D01, and data on the outcomes of asylum applications at initial decision are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of December 2021.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Planning Permission: Public Consultation

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Planning for the Future White Paper, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Mendip Local Plan II meets the Government's policy of increasing the role of local communities in the planning process.

Stuart Andrew: Due to the ministerial quasi-judicial role in the planning system, it would not be appropriate to comment on the details of specific local plans. We do need to modernise the planning system in England to provide better outcomes for local authorities, communities and builders, including small builders. We will ensure that communities are engaged throughout the planning process supported by digitisation, helping to bring the current system into the 21st century. Communities will retain the ability to have a meaningful say on individual planning applications.

Housing: Insulation

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to prevent developers and freeholders from passing on cladding remediation costs to residents through increases to the service charge.

Stuart Andrew: We are clear that building owners and industry should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders, and leaseholders living in their own medium and high-rise buildings should not have to pay to remediate historic cladding defects that are no fault of their own. That is why we are bringing forth statutory protections in the Building Safety Bill to ensure leaseholders are protected. Developers and freeholders should not be passing on cladding remediation costs to leaseholders in flats over 11 metres through increases to the service charge.The Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The law is clear that service charges and any increase in costs must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard. We established an independent working group chaired by Lord Best to raise standards across the property sector, which also considered improvements to the transparency of service charges. The working group published its final report to Government (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-of-property-agents-working-group-report) and we are considering the report’s recommendations.

Gazumping

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on developing and promoting the use of voluntary reservation agreements.

Stuart Andrew: We commissioned some behavioural insight specialists to work with consumers and industry bodies to explore ways to encourage the adoption of voluntary reservation agreements. Under these agreements, buyers and sellers would make a legal commitment to proceed with the sale once an offer has been accepted and may include a financial commitment which would be surrendered to the other side if the party withdraws without good reason. We are currently evaluating the findings and will then make a decision about the next steps.

Luton Airport: Planning Permission

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February to Question 117077 on Luton Airport: Planning Permission, for what purposes his Department would consider commissioning sustainability reports from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Stuart Andrew: The planning system has well established procedures for assessing the environmental impact of differing types of development. It is for applicants to provide the necessary documentation.

Party Wall etc Act 1996

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 in protecting home-owner's rights.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the (a) fairness and (b) ease of access to legal advice for homeowners in Party Wall disputes.

Stuart Andrew: The Act provides a framework for preventing or resolving disputes in relation to party walls, party structures, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings. Any surveyor appointed under section 10 of the Act is undertaking a statutory role. In all cases, surveyors appointed or selected under the dispute resolution procedure of the Act must consider the interests and rights of both owners and draw up an award impartially.If the requirements of the Act are not followed, as with most property law matters (e.g. boundary disputes) it is a civil matter for the parties involved to resolve. Anyone considering taking legal action is strongly advised to seek their own legal advice before taking any action.

Sewage: Rivers and Seas and Oceans

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the nutrient neutrality policies of the local planning authorities around the Solent assist Southern Water in its efforts to control the effect of discharges of sewage into rivers and the sea.

Stuart Andrew: Nutrient Neutrality, through the provision of mitigation, ensures that development does not contribute additional nutrient loads to the Solent catchment, avoiding additional harm and so adverse effects to habitats sites.My department and DEFRA have established a cross-Government task force to tackle nutrient pollution and enable development to continue. The cross-Government taskforce continues to identify the range of options in the short, medium and long term. Defra having recently published the Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat, making clear that Ofwat and water companies should consider nutrients pollution in line with their environmental duties, which include duties under the Habitat Regulations; working with wider stakeholders to support efforts to tackle nutrients pollution.Defra together with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission and the Partnership for South Hampshire (PfSH) are working with EnTrade to develop a nutrient trading pilot project in the Solent region. The project aims to connect developers, who need to offset pollution from new developments, with landowners willing to undertake land use change to reduce pollution. This will help to unblock housing delivery whilst avoiding further harm to important protected wildlife sites and delivering wider environmental benefits.

Buildings: Insulation

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance has been issued to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors on the need for external wall surveys on buildings less than 18 metres high.

Stuart Andrew: An EWS1 form is not a statutory or regulatory requirement nor ​a​ safety ‘test’, it is a form used for valuation and was introduced by The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), together with UK Finance and the Building Societies Association.Government also supports the independent expert statement from July 2021 which was clear that there is no systemic risk of fire in residential buildings under 18 metres and that EWS1s should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. However, RICS announced in December that they will retain their valuation guidance including for buildings under 18 metres but committed to keep it under review. This is disappointing and we continue to work with RICS to address their disproportionate approach to risk. We must make sure that RICS are equipped to support a solution to this building safety challenge which is why we plan to legislate to allow the Secretary of State to conduct a review into their governance.

Housing: Construction

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what measures are in place to deter new-build housing developers from preventing potential buyers from choosing their own mortgage advisors and housing solicitors.

Stuart Andrew: The Government expects all purchasers of new-build homes to be able to seek independent advice when making a purchase. We are committed to appointing a New Homes Ombudsman to help buyers of new homes when something goes wrong by determining complaints by buyers and resolving disputes. The Building Safety Bill, currently before Parliament includes powers to introduce the New Homes Ombudsman and a developers’ code of practice to set out clearly the conduct and quality of work expected of developers.Under the Government’s Help To Buy Equity Loan scheme developers are required to comply with the Consumer Code for Home Builders. This requires developers not to restrict a buyers choice of legal representative, financial adviser or mortgage intermediary and to advise them to take independent advice. In addition most new build homes are issued with a 10 year new-build warranty which often requires a developer to be subject to a code of practice, many of which will similarly require developers not to restrict a buyers choice of adviser.

Housing: Noise

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will ensure that Ministers and officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs working on the impact of noise are consulted in any review of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Stuart Andrew: I thank the honourable gentleman for his interest in this important issue. I am happy to assure him that we will work closely with our ministerial colleagues and officials at DEFRA in undertaking any review of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Housing: Noise

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department's review of the National Planning Policy Framework will require applicants for (a) new developments or (b) changes of use to assess impacts of noise from all external sources on the intended occupiers of a development.

Stuart Andrew: We have made clear that we expect planning policies and decisions to make sure proposed developments are appropriate for their location, taking noise impacts into account. In the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), we introduced the agent of change principle, which places the duty to consider and provide suitable mitigation for significant adverse noise effects on the applicant for new development, not existing businesses and community facilities We have also published Planning Practice Guidance on noise, to help local authorities consider how to apply the agent of change principle in practice. The principles of this guidance can be used to assist in fulfilling the ‘prior approval’ requirements for certain changes of use with regard to noise management There are no plans to change the agent of change principle in any future review of the NPPF.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to answer the letters from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare of 17 December and 18 January on LEP reviews.

Neil O'Brien: A response has gone to the Hon Member today.

Housing: Migrants

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the impact on individual house prices in 2021 of net international migration.

Stuart Andrew: The Department does not plan to make an assessment of the impact on individual house prices in 2021 of net international migration.

Housing: Older People

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the task force on older people’s housing announced in the Levelling Up White Paper will include a focus on housing options which include CQC-regulated care provision onsite.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the task force on older people’s housing announced in his Department's Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper plans to explore appropriate tenure models for housing-with-care.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the task force on older people’s housing announced in the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper plans to consider expanding the provision of housing-with-care and integrated retirement communities.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has plans, through the task force on older people’s housing announced in the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper, to reform the planning system to define different kinds of housing for older people.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the task force on older people’s housing announced in the Levelling Up White Paper will focus on expanding the provision of housing-with-care and Integrated Retirement Communities.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the task force on housing for older people announced in the Levelling Up White Paper published in February 2022, what plans he has to reform the planning system to more clearly define different kinds of housing for older people.

Stuart Andrew: As part of the Levelling Up White Paper, we announced a new taskforce to look at ways we can provide more choice, better quality and greater security of housing for older people, and support the growth of a thriving older people's housing sector. This includes considering how to increase the supply of a range of specialist housing, including housing with care, across the country.This work will be taken forward in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, building on the commitments set out in their recent white paper on adult social care reform.The taskforce will examine barriers to increasing the supply of older peoples housing, as well as the issues older people face when it comes to considering their housing options in later life. This includes the role of the planning system in ensuring new development caters for a diverse range of housing needs. Further information on the taskforce will be announced soon.

Buildings: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department plans to take in response to data published by the London Fire Brigade that 1,149 buildings in London require emergency measures due to fire safety defects.

Stuart Andrew: Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the Responsible Person has duties to ensure the safety of occupants in their building from fire risks and identifying suitable mitigating measures where they are needed. Each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to have a risk-based inspection programme and management strategy in place to ensure compliance with the Fire Safety Order in their area. They audit premises to check compliance with its provisions and can take enforcement action where non-compliance is identified.The Government is providing £5.1 billion to address the fire safety risks caused by unsafe cladding on high-rise residential buildings, to protect residents and leaseholders from costs and prioritising the highest risk buildings. We are also providing over £60m to replace costly Waking Watch measures with fire alarms in all buildings with a waking watch regardless of height or the reason for the waking watch being in place.We have tabled a series of amendments to the Building Safety Bill that will require that historical safety defects in any building above 11 metres owned by the developer who built or refurbished it or by the landlord associated with that developer must be fixed by them, and that building owners and non-residents that can afford to pay must not pass on any costs relating to historical safety defects to leaseholders.

Bus Services: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much of the levelling up fund is specifically earmarked for improving Birmingham’s bus network.

Neil O'Brien: The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund invests in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.Successful applicants to the first round of the Levelling Up Fund were announced alongside the 2021 Spending Review. Birmingham City Council was awarded over £52 million in funding across three projects, including £19.94 million for the ‘Dudley Road’ project.This bid focuses on major highways improvements around Birmingham City Centre to improve transport accessibility into the city. This includes the provision of bus priority measures, which will improve bus journey times into and out of the city.Further funding opportunities will be available through a second round of the Levelling Up Fund, which will open in spring 2022. More information on this will be available in due course The West Midlands Combined Authority also received £1 billion in funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement to improve the regions tram, train, bus and cycle networks.

Faith New Deal Pilot Fund

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to inform applicants to the Faith New Deal Pilot Fund of the result of their application.

Kemi Badenoch: The £1 million Faith New Deal Pilot Fund focuses on strengthening engagement between national government, local government and faith groups. The fund was formally launched on 9 September 2021 and bids closed on 14 October 2021.We received a large number of applications for the fund and officials are in the final stages of the assessment and moderation process. The results will be announced shortly.I encourage applicants to monitor the Government’s web pages for further updates: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-levelling-up-housing-and-communities

Leasehold: Repairs and Maintenance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he will take to prevent leasehold homeowners from being overcharged for the maintenance of their property.

Eddie Hughes: The Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The law is clear that service charges and any increase in costs must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard. The Government believes that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong.Leaseholders may make an application to the First-tier Tribunal for it to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges, and may continue to do so even if the freeholder is in administration. Leaseholders may also apply for an Order to the First-tier Tribunal under Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 if they consider that there are significant management failures.We established an independent working group chaired by Lord Best to raise standards across the property sector, which also considered improvements to the transparency of service charges. The working group published its final report to Government (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-of-property-agents-working-group-report and we are considering the report’s recommendations.

Private Rented Housing: Reform

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to bring forward a rental reform white paper.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains committed to building back fairer and delivering a better deal for renters. We will publish a White Paper this spring that will set out a package of reforms to create a fairer private rented sector.We are undertaking robust and structured engagement with stakeholders to inform our plans, while also learning from the pandemic’s impact on the sector.

Housing: Natural Gas

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to be free of gas safety risks.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to be free of unsafe electrics.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to be free of fire safety issues.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to (a) be free of dampness and (b) have heating.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to be free of vermin infestation.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to be free of structural or internal disrepair.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, whether the planned legally binding Decent Home Standard will include a requirement for all homes to be free of unsanitary toilets, bathrooms and kitchens.

Eddie Hughes: We are committed to driving up standards in private rented accommodation and we will be consulting on introducing a legally binding Decent Homes Standard (DHS) in the Private Rented Sector.Rented homes must already be free of the most serious ‘category 1’ hazards, which include but are not limited to issues such as electrical and fire safety, dampness and cold assessed using the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS). We are reviewing the HHSRS to ensure the system is more accessible and easier to understand for landlords and tenants, and facilitates the effective enforcement of housing standards by local authorities.We will publish a White Paper in spring this year that will set out our proposals for reform of the private rented sector.

Private Rented Housing: Reform

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, by what date his Department plans to publish its white paper on proposals for reform of the private rented sector.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains committed to building back fairer and delivering a better deal for renters. We will publish a White Paper that will set out a package of reforms to create a fairer private rented sector this spring.We are undertaking robust and structured engagement with stakeholders to inform our plans, while also learning from the pandemic’s impact on the sector.

Tenants

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, how many tenancy unions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have met with in the last six months.

Eddie Hughes: We know that understanding tenants’ experiences of the private rented sector is vital to making sure reforms work in the long term. Therefore, we have undertaken extensive engagement with a number of key stakeholders representing tenants.I have chaired six Roundtables, with the most recent one held on the 9 February 2022. At all the roundtables, groups representing tenants have been in attendance. Additionally, many of the groups attending the roundtable are members of the Renters Reform Coalition which includes tenancy unions.

Generation Rent

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Generation Rent.

Eddie Hughes: Generation Rent have attended all six of the roundtable discussions that I have chaired regarding reforms to the Private Rented Sector. The most recent meeting took place on the 9 February 2022.My officials have regular communication and a strong working relationship with Generation Rent, through scheduled monthly meetings. This provides both Generation Rent and the Department with the opportunity to discuss key issues affecting those in the private rented sector.I met with Baroness Kennedy from Generation Rent in November, and we are due to meet again in early March.

Tenants

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 120801 on Housing: Regional Planning and Development, what plans he has to engage with tenancy unions.

Eddie Hughes: We know that understanding tenants’ experiences of the private rented sector is vital to making sure reforms work in the long term. We have undertaken extensive engagement with a range of key stakeholders representing tenants and will continue to do so.We are currently developing our engagement plans to inform the implementation of a Decent Homes Standard and will engage with tenancy unions as part of our work.

Scotland Office

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the process for the Scottish Government to exercise their power to top up reserved benefits; and whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential merits of expediting that process.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scottish Government is accountable for exercising its power to top up reserved benefits. Section 24 of the Scotland Act 2016 enables the Scottish Government to introduce discretionary top‐up payments to people in Scotland who are entitled to a reserved benefit. The Scotland Office, DWP and the Scottish Government have dedicated work programmes to implement the relevant changes following the devolution of welfare powers introduced by the Scotland Act 2016. As my ministerial colleague the Minister for Pensions has previously set out, we work closely together and officials hold regular discussions. In addition, discussions are held at ministerial level through the regular Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare and bilateral meetings between the relevant Scotland Office, DWP and Scottish Government ministers take place as required.

Attorney General

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, on what dates each new prosecution was brought forward by the Serious Fraud Office from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2021; and for each of those prosecutions (a) whether the prosecution was into a corporate or an individual and (a) what the outcome was.

Alex Chalk: From the 1st of January 2016 to 31st of December 2021, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has brought forward 103 prosecutions as a result of their criminal casework. The table below sets-out how many prosecutions were brought forward in each year, whether they relate to a corporate or an individual, and the final outcome. * The cases investigated by the SFO are complex and it can take a number of years before any defendant(s) can be charged and a trial scheduled. Information relating to the exact date each investigation began is not readily available and providing this information would incur a disproportionate cost.  Corporate Individual OutcomeOutcomeYearguilty pleaDeferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA)DiscontinuedConviction after trialGuilty PleaAcquittedAwaiting TrialTotal201611 799 272017121115101312018  1115 82019 2 122292020131418202113  1 510Total411220182622103 *We have used the term ‘brought forward’ to mean the date a charge was instigated against an individual or corporate.Detailed information regarding SFO prosecutions, including the date a charge was instigated can be found on their website: https://www.sfo.gov.uk/our-cases/

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, on what date each new Deferred Prosecution Agreement was signed by the Serious Fraud Office from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2021.

Alex Chalk: From 1st of January 2016 to 31st of December 2021, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) entered into a total of 11 Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs). The table below provides details of the date each DPA was signed. Case name Date DPA was signed by the SFOSarclad Ltd06/07/2016Rolls Royce PLC17/01/2017Tesco PLC10/04/2017Serco04/07/2019Güralp Systems Ltd22/10/2019Airbus Group31/01/2020G4S17/07/2020Airline Services Limited30/10/2020Amec Foster Wheeler plc01/07/2021AB Ltd*19/07/2021CD Ltd*19/07/2021 * reporting restrictions apply  Detailed information regarding the use of DPAs can be found on the SFO website:

Fraud: Criminal Investigation

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, how many fraud cases have been discontinued in each of the last five years.

Alex Chalk: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of cases of fraud which have been discontinued. This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost. While no data is held reporting the number of cases of fraud prosecuted, records are collated providing the number of defendants whose prosecution was completed where the case was marked as ‘Fraud and Forgery’. During the last five years, the CPS has prosecuted 67,817 defendants for fraud and forgery offences and convictions have been obtained against 58,671 (86.5%) of these defendants. The table below shows the number of defendants with cases marked as ‘Fraud and Forgery’ where the prosecution was dropped during each of the last five years. 2016-20172017-20182018-20192019-20202020-2021Prosecutions Dropped1,6391,5561,4331,056811 Data Source: CPS Case Management Information SystemThe Fraud and Forgery category includes offences created by the Fraud Act 2006, forgery or copying false instruments, bribery, money laundering, bankruptcy offences and cheating the public revenue. It is not possible to separately report prosecution outcomes by the individual offences allocated to this category.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the business units of his Department and in which office each is based.

Michael Ellis: The Cabinet Office is located across the United Kingdom including presence across many of its growth locations such as Glasgow, York and the devolved administrations as part of the Government’s plan to further strengthen the Union.

Air Pollution: Death

Luke Pollard: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many death records listed air pollution as a cause of death in (a) Plymouth, (b) the South West and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 18 February is attached. UKSA response (pdf, 110.4KB)

Prime Minister: Photographs

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many photographers are employed by the Office of the Prime Minister and No. 10 Downing Street; and on what date the advertisement for each role was published.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, to PQ 119830.

Prime Minister: Correspondence

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many outstanding (a) emails and (b) letters he has from the public as of 23 February 2022; and what criteria he uses to determine which enquiries he responds to.

Michael Ellis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 February to PQ 113707.

Prime Minister

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse is of (a) his new Chief of Staff and (b) his new Director of Communications.

Michael Ellis: In relation to the Chief of Staff, I would refer the Hon. Member back to the reply I gave to her on 7 February 2022 (Hansard volume 708, from column 695).In relation to the Director of Communications, pursuant to the Constitution Reform and Governance Act 2010, a report is published annually containing information about the number and cost of special advisers. Salaries of individuals above £70,000 are detailed in bands of £5,000.

Places for Growth Programme: Equality

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has taken steps to maintain a central equality impact assessment on the move of posts out of London and the Southeast under the Places for Growth initiative.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all Departments have been advised to carry out an equality impact assessment in advance of any move of posts out of London and the South East under the Places for Growth initiative.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether recognised trade unions will be consulted on any move of posts out of London and the South East under the Places for Growth initiative.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there are any potential redundancy schemes operating in relation to the Places for Growth initiative.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Departments are required to inform the Cabinet Office of any plans to move posts out London and the South East under the Places for Growth initiative.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Places for Growth initiative applies to public servants.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Government has made it clear that the Civil Service and its public bodies should have a truly national footprint. Places for Growth is working closely with departments and public bodies to relocate 22,000 Civil Service roles from Greater London to locations across the UK. The Government engages with Trade Unions regarding the Government’s overall ambition for Places for Growth. Departments are responsible for their individual relocation programmes and own the associated business cases, Equality Impact Assessments and engagement with Trades Unions relating to their plans. The majority of moves will involve roles becoming available through natural turnover, whereby roles identified as suitable for relocation will be advertised in the new location once a vacancy arises. Places for Growth has an Equality Impact Assessment in place and departments are also responsible for ensuring they carry out, review and scrutinise Equality Impact Assessments for their specific relocation programmes.

Cabinet Office: Newspaper Press

David Linden: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2022 to Question 122798 on Cabinet Office: Newspaper Press, for what reason people were instructed to send their correspondence to the parliamentary postal and email addresses of the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency rather than to his ministerial addresses.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: Both the constituency and ministerial correspondence emails have been provided as points of contact where appropriate. Any correspondence affecting the department which is sent to the constituency office is passed to the Cabinet Office in the usual way.

Cabinet Office: Energy Supply

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what critical infrastructure his Department is responsible for that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Chippenham, to PQ 58831 on 27 October 2021.

Prime Minister: Newspaper Press

David Linden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the article accredited to the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, published in the Sun newspaper on 10 February 2022 was cleared in draft with the No. 10 Press and Private Offices.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 February to Question PQ 122799.

Community Assets: Civil Society

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a community asset focus for disposable public estate to provide accommodation for civil society organisations.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: Public sector organisations holding any land or buildings are encouraged continuously to review their property portfolio to see whether any of their assets might become surplus to requirements. The details of government property for sale or rent can be found on Government Property Finder on GOV.UK.Civil society organisations can identify any property in which they have an interest and contact the relevant department to discuss the possibility of a purchase.Members of the public also have the option to challenge government organisations to sell land or property in their locality if they believe it is not needed and could be put to better economic use through the Right to Contest process.As part of the Levelling Up White Paper, the UK Government has committed to developing a Strategy for Community Spaces and Relationships. As part of this, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will review existing community asset frameworks which enable communities to protect local spaces.The £150m Community Ownership Fund is already helping communities across the UK to protect valued local assets at risk of loss. Since July 2021, community groups have been able to bid for support from the Community Ownership Fund, for up to £250k in matched funding, or in exceptional cases up to £1m, to help them buy or take over assets for the local community.

Corruption and Fraud

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister in his Department has responsibility for fraud and corruption following the resignation of Lord Agnew of Oulton.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as the senior Minister in the Cabinet Office, continues to have oversight of fraud against the public sector.Policies on fraud against the public and business, as well as corruption, remain with the Home Office and the Minister of State for Security and Borders, assisted by the Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Champion, John Penrose MP.

Treasury

Sole Traders: VAT

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many sole traders have experienced delays in repayment of VAT following an HMRC VAT Refund software upgrade in 2021; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle those delays.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC made no upgrades to its VAT repayment software in 2021. There are no current delays, other than those that may occur from time to time in the course of business when HMRC carries out additional checks on a repayment claim.HMRC makes VAT repayments to over half a million VAT registered businesses every year, including sole traders. It is important that HMRC makes checks on repayments in order to prevent fraud. HMRC aims to complete these checks as quickly as possible to minimise disruption for businesses.HMRC’s code of practice for dealing with delayed VAT repayment returns is set out in Notice 700/58. As explained in the notice, HMRC will in certain circumstances pay a repayment supplement if a repayment is not made within 30 days. Over 95 per cent of repayments are made within 10 days and over 99.75 per cent of repayments are made within 30 days.

Energy: VAT

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the potential increase in the tax take through VAT on household energy bills will be by October 2022.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of reducing VAT to zero on household energy bills as an annual figure.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is providing significant financial support of up to £350 to the majority of households, which will cover more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23 and is more generous than a VAT cut. All taxes are kept under review, but there are no plans to remove VAT on domestic fuel and power. High energy prices reduce VAT revenues. In recognition that families should not have to bear all the VAT costs they incur to meet their needs, domestic fuels such as gas and electricity are already subject to the reduced rate of 5 per cent of VAT. If people spend more on energy where VAT is 5 per cent, they spend less on goods and services that on average have a much higher VAT rate, thereby reducing VAT revenue overall.

Lifts and Wheelchairs: Spare Parts

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what actions her Department is taking to ensure that essential items and repair parts for (a) wheelchairs and (b) lifts are not subject to customs delays at the UK border.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of fast-tracking customs checks for essential repair parts for (a) wheelchairs and (b) lifts.

Lucy Frazer: The Government’s priority is to keep goods moving and avoid delays at the border, but as the Government has made clear, they will not compromise on security.As the customs authority, HMRC works alongside Border Force to ensure that border processes are as smooth as possible, whilst targeting cross-border threats. HMRC uses a risk based and intelligence-led response focusing compliance interventions on tackling the goods and traders that represent highest risks to revenue, the UK economy and wider society, and our international reputation. HMRC clears goods within published service level agreements. These can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-clearance-hub-for-goods-entering-leaving-or-transiting-the-eu.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to allow recipients of income through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to alter the rate of income tax paid on that income over time.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has supported UK households throughout the pandemic with nearly £400 billion of COVID support, including through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which provided over £28 billion in grants to 2.9 million individuals. The Government does not think it is right to allow SEISS recipients to alter the rate of tax paid on that income over time. The tax paid on a SEISS grant will depend on an individual’s profits, any other taxable income, and allowances to which a person is entitled. The grants are taxable at the recipient’s rate of Income Tax in the year they were received. The Government has implemented an unprecedented package of support for taxpayers struggling with paying tax liabilities. HMRC has scaled up its longstanding Time to Pay policy, which allows any business or individual in temporary financial difficulty to schedule their tax debts into affordable, sustainable, and tailored instalment arrangements.

Sports: EU Countries

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Government support is available to assist with the completion of paperwork for amateur sports clubs that wish to transport equipment to compete at an event in an EU country.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has produced extensive guidance to support individuals, traders, and others, including amateur sports clubs, to enable them to move their goods between the UK and the EU. When exporting goods from the UK, travellers can declare non-commercial goods they carry in their personal baggage simply by moving through a ‘Green Channel’ at a port or airport, or by driving through a port. This is referred to as declaring goods ‘by conduct’. On entering and leaving the EU, amateur sports clubs will have to ensure they comply with customs procedures in the EU. They may be able to take advantage of the EU’s Temporary Admission procedure to obtain relief from import duty, subject to relevant conditions being met. They may be allowed to declare their goods to this procedure ‘by conduct’, as described above. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authority of the relevant EU Member State, so it is important that they confirm the processes at their port of arrival, any conditions or procedures that may apply, and the time limit goods may remain in the EU without the payment of duty. More information can be found here: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs-4_en. When they return to the UK, provided the equipment has not undergone any alteration while in the EU and it is accompanied by them on arrival, the equipment can be declared ‘by conduct’ by passing through the Green Channel at the airport or by driving through a port. An alternative method of moving the goods is the use of an ATA Carnet. The ATA Carnet system is an internationally agreed method of moving certain goods between customs territories temporarily. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/taking-goods-out-uk-temporarily.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were excluded or rejected from the (a) Self Employment Income Support Scheme and (b) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Lucy Frazer: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) were designed to prevent as much fraud as possible before any payments were made, while still quickly supporting those who needed it. By building automated controls into the digital claim process, HMRC prevented more than 100,000 ineligible or mistaken claims within the Covid-19 schemes, namely CJRS, SEISS, and Eat Out to Help Out. By carrying out pre-payment checks based on risk and intelligence profiles, HMRC also blocked more than 29,000 claims and registrations in 2020-21. The Government remains committed to cracking down on fraud wherever it arises, which is why the Government has invested over £100 million in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of 1,265 HMRC staff to combat fraud on the HMRC-administered Covid-19 schemes. This is one of the largest and quickest responses to a fraud risk by HMRC.The Taskforce is expected to recover £800 million to £1 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments over the next two years. This builds on the work already done, which saw HMRC recover £536 million in 2020-21.

Cost of Living: Medical Treatments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising funds through a windfall tax on oil and gas companies for allocation to (a) kidney patients receiving dialysis treatment at home and (b) other patients using large volumes of electricity in their homes for medical treatment.

Helen Whately: The NHS is the Government's key spending priority and that is why it has committed to a historic settlement that provides a cash increase of £33.9 billion a year by 2023-24. This takes the NHS budget from £114.6 billion in 2018-19 to over £160 billion in 2024-25. These investments will allow the NHS to continue providing the services people need. The Government is also providing significant financial support – up to £350 – to the majority of households, which will cover more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1bn in 2022-23. The UK Government places additional taxes on the extraction of oil and gas, with companies engaged in the production of oil and gas on the UK Continental Shelf subject to headline tax rates on their profits that are currently more than double those paid by other businesses. To date, the sector has paid more than £375 billion in production taxes. All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Energy Bills Rebate

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential financial impact of the energy bills rebate on customers with pre-payment energy meters.

Helen Whately: Domestic electricity customers will receive the reduction regardless of their type of payment method. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will work closely with industry and consumer groups to ensure pre-payment customers receive the £200 reduction from October in a way that is convenient for them. BEIS will consult in the spring.

Video Games: Tax Allowances

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on Ireland's competitiveness of its higher rate of video games tax relief at 32 per cent; and whether he has plans to accept the recommendation of The Independent Game Developers’ Association to increase the rate of video games tax relief in the UK.

Lucy Frazer: The Government recognises the valuable economic and cultural contribution of the video games industry. The Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) has supported £4.4 billion of UK expenditure on 1,640 games since its introduction in 2014. The Government regularly receives proposals for changes to tax reliefs. When considering changes, the Government must ensure they provide support to businesses in a fair way and that taxpayer money is effectively targeted. An uplift in the rate of VGTR is not currently under consideration. However, the Government keeps all tax reliefs under review.

Defibrillators: VAT

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of waiving VAT on defibrillators.

Lucy Frazer: The Government already maintains VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), including VAT relief on purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.Any new VAT relief would come at a cost to the Exchequer and the Government has received over £50 billion worth of requests for relief from VAT since the EU referendum. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate VAT on the energy used whilst charging electric vehicles batteries at public electric charge points to the level of VAT on energy used at domestic household vehicle charging points, as part of the fiscal forecast to be published on 23 March 2022.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has no plans to review the VAT treatment of electric vehicle charging. In order to keep costs down for families, all domestic fuel and power, including the supply of electricity for domestic use, attracts the reduced rate of VAT at 5 per cent. Therefore, the reduced rate also applies to charging electric vehicles at home. However, electricity supplied at electric vehicle charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT at 20 per cent.Expanding the existing relief would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps to fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.

Off-payroll Working

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employees have re-claimed tax through the introduction of IR35 rules since April 2021.

Lucy Frazer: When, after a compliance check, HMRC identifies that a client has failed to deduct tax and National Insurance as a result of a status determination error under the off-payroll working rules, contractors may be entitled to claim for tax they have paid that is no longer due. HMRC is not aware of any claims made by contractors in relation to settled compliance cases since April 2021.

Mortgages

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of lifetime mortgage customers who have switched to plans with lower interest rates since 2015.

John Glen: Lifetime mortgages are a form of equity release scheme which may be an appropriate option for some homeowners wishing to withdraw equity while remaining in their home. Consumers considering equity release should seek independent financial advice to help ensure that the product is suitable for their individual needs. Industry analysis indicates that the volume of equity release customers switching to a new deal increased significantly in 2021 with around 5,000 remortgage cases, compared to around 2,000 in 2020. Borrowers seeking to remortgage an equity release product are encouraged to seek advice and to be mindful of any factors, such as early repayment charges, that may affect their decision to switch.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual budget was for Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) for each of the last three years; and how many financial investigators are employed to work in OFSI for financial year 2021-22.

John Glen: The staff in post in OFSI was 37.8 FTE as at 31 March 2021. This information can be found in HM Treasury’s Outcome Delivery Plan 2021 to 2022, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-outcome-delivery-plan/hm-treasury-outcome-delivery-plan-2021-to-2022 Releasing further details of OFSI’s budget and headcount by function could prejudice its operational effectiveness.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority on its 2021 consultation on proposals to ban claim management companies from handling FSCS claims where they had a relevant connection to the claim.

John Glen: Consumers should have confidence that firms are acting in their best interests when using claims management companies (CMCs) to help them obtain compensation. The Government welcomes the FCA’s consultation on proposals to prevent the practice of ‘phoenixing’, which intend to ensure that CMCs are not seeking to profit from past misconduct of individuals connected with the CMC. The Government looks forward to the outcome of the FCA’s consultation.

Economic Situation: Coronavirus

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department had made of the cost per day of covid-19 lockdowns to the economy.

John Glen: The pandemic and associated non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) created significant economic disruption and drove the largest recession on record, with the UK economy contracting by 9.4% in 2020. The government has outlined the impact of restrictions and lockdowns on the economy in the following publications: Analysis of the health, economic and social effects of Covid-19 and the approach to tiering (30 November 2020), Budget 2021 (3 March 2021) and Living with Covid (21 February 2022). These documents can be found below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-health-economic-and-social-effects-of-covid-19-and-the-tiered-approach https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2021-documents https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-living-with-covid-19Any attempt to estimate the specific economic impacts of precise changes to individual restrictions for a defined period of time would be subject to very wide uncertainty. HM Treasury, as part of its normal activities, carefully monitors the UK economy, and any risks to it, and remains ready to respond to challenges.

Rented Housing: Deposits

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will explore initiatives with mortgage lenders to enable the removal of the requirement for substantial deposits for people and families that are renting.

John Glen: The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. Hence, in April 2021, the Government launched the mortgage guarantee scheme to help to increase the supply of 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages, meaning that credit-worthy borrowers only require a 5% deposit. There are now over 300 95% LTV mortgage products on the market, making it easier for those who can afford mortgage repayments, but are unable to save a large deposit to get on the property ladder. Moreover, the Government believes that a history of paying rent should be recognised in tenants’ credit scores and affordability assessments. In 2017, the Government announced the Rent Recognition Challenge: a £2 million competition challenging the UK’s world-leading tech firms to develop applications that enable tenants to record and share their rental payment data with lenders and credit reference agencies. The three winners of the challenge (CreditLadder, Bud and RentalStep) are now all using technology to verify and record tenants’ rental payments.

Bank Services: Internet

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that people who do not possess a smart mobile phone capable of identity verification are not discriminated against when online banking.

John Glen: Regulatory technical standards, known as Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), have been introduced across retail banking and payment services. These rules aim to ensure that the person requesting access to their account, or trying to make a payment, is either the account holder or someone to whom they have given consent. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for supervising and enforcing the SCA technical standards. The FCA has a duty to regularly review these technical standards, and also has the power to amend them, subject to Treasury approval. FCA guidance expects firms to develop SCA solutions that work for all types of customer, encouraging firms to consider their impact on different groups as part of the design process, particularly those with protected characteristics. The FCA guidance also recognises that not all customers will have mobile phones or reliable mobile signal, and that payment service providers must therefore provide a viable means to authenticate customers in these situations. For example, this could include the creation of a one-time password through a piece of equipment called a token generator, or by providing a one-time password via a landline. The FCA’s guidance (specifically paragraph 20.22) can be found online at the following location: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/fca-approach-payment-services-electronic-money-2017.pdf Further information about the introduction of SCA can be found on the FCA’s website: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/strong-customer-authentication

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many referrals of suspected criminal sanctions breaches the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has referred to the National Crime Agency in each of the last three years.

John Glen: HM Treasury assesses all potential breaches of financial sanctions, and takes appropriate action which can include issuing a monetary penalty or referring the matter to law enforcement agencies. Further information about our enforcement action is published on our website and in our Annual Review, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-financial-sanctions-implementation We cannot publicise information about our work with law enforcement specifically as it could prejudice ongoing investigations, however we can confirm that we refer all cases which may meet the threshold for criminal action.

Mortgages

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of homeowners on lifetime mortgage plans in the UK.

John Glen: Lifetime mortgages are a form of equity release scheme which may be an appropriate option for some homeowners wishing to withdraw equity while remaining in their home. Consumers considering equity release should seek independent financial advice to help ensure that the product is suitable for their individual needs. The volume of lifetime mortgages has risen since 2016 and remained steady since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. UK Finance data shows that there were 10,860 lifetime mortgage products taken out in Q4 2021.

Credit: Regulation

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to regulate buy now, pay later products.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to create a definition of buy now, pay later in statute; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of establishing that definition.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the savings to consumers resulting from the use of buy now, pay later low interest credit schemes in 2021.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of buy now, pay later products on the UK’s retail industry.

John Glen: The Woolard Review into the unsecured credit market found several potential risks of consumer detriment from interest-free Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) products. The Government recognises those risks, but also notes that as an interest-free product, BNPL can often be lower-risk than other forms of borrowing and a useful tool to help consumers manage their finances. That is why on 2 February 2021 the Government announced its intention to regulate BNPL products in a proportionate manner. The Government published a consultation on policy proposals for the regulation of BNPL on 21 October 2021, which closed on 6 January. The consultation sought stakeholder views on how to define the scope of regulation and how to draw boundaries in legislation between different types of credit agreements that make use of the exemption from consumer credit regulation that is currently used by BNPL products. The Government is now reviewing responses to this consultation and considering next steps and intends to publish a consultation response in the spring. HMT does not hold information regarding the savings to consumers resulting from the use of BNPL products in 2021, or the impact of BNPL on the UK’s retail industry. Instead, HMT draws on the research of various stakeholders, including consumer groups and the wider financial services industry, to inform policy development.

National Insurance Contributions

Imran Hussain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the population will pay more as a result of the National Insurance Contribution rise in April 2022 than they will receive through the Council Tax Rebate.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Treasury publishes analysis alongside fiscal events setting out the combined impact on households of government tax and spend decisions in the round. Analysis published at Autumn Budget 21 showed that tax and spend changes announced by this government are progressive overall, with low-income households on average contributing the least in tax and receiving most benefit from spending. Individually, these measures are progressive. The highest earning 15 per cent pay around half of the revenues for the Health and Social Care Levy. Around 80% of households in England are in Council Tax Bands A-D, and so will benefit from this rebate.

Social Services: Finance

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what percentage of the proposed National Insurance contribution increase will be distributed to local authorities to provide additional support for adult social care.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government set out its plans for the Health and Social Care Levy and the revenue it will raise in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review document published in October 2021. For 2022-23, receipts from the Levy will be added to the existing NHS allocation for England, and will go to the NHS or equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as with the current NHS NICs allocation. From 2023-24 onwards, receipts from the Levy will go to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities; NHS England and NHS Improvement; the Department of Health and Social Care; and those responsible for health and social care in the devolved administrations. The Government will invest an additional £5.4 billion over three years to reform adult social care. This is in addition to the local government settlement at SR21 which set out that local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23. Further detail on the Government plans for adult social care spending can be found in Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care and in the recently published white paper, People at the Heart of Care.

Energy Bills Rebate

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance is available to local authorities on the £150 Council Tax rebate.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what method local authorities will use to distribute the Council Tax Rebate.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published guidance to local authorities on administering the council tax rebate. This can be found in the link below: The council tax rebate 2022-23 – billing authority guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Car Allowances

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current rate of the car mileage allowance; and if he will make it his policy to increase that allowance in light of the rising cost of (a) fuel and (b) servicing and maintenance of vehicles.

Helen Whately: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rates to minimise administrative burdens. Organisations are not required to use the AMAPs rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse a different amount that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. However, tax is charged on any payment received by employees which exceed the AMAPs rate. This policy is kept under review by the Government.

Energy Bills Rebate

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse is of the element of the energy bill discount scheme, announced on 3 February 2022, relating to the council tax rebate proposal; and what allowance he has made in that costing for the provision of support to pensioners who are on 100 per cent council tax support and who may need assistance to claim the £150 rebate from their local authority.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government has announced a £150 non-repayable council tax rebate for households in England in council tax bands A-D and £144 million of discretionary funding for billing authorities to support households who are are not eligible. The cost of both measures is estimated to be around £3 billion, including support for pensioners in receipt of Local Council Tax Support, and will be finalised following a reconciliation process to confirm how many rebates have been provided. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published guidance to help billing authorities administer the rebate effectively.

Cost of Living: Medical Treatments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will introduce (a) capped tariffs and (b) regular reimbursement payments for people with disproportionate cost of living increases due to energy intensive medical treatments, including people with kidney failure receiving home dialysis treatment.

Mr Simon Clarke: The NHS is the Government's key spending priority and that is why it has committed to a historic settlement that provides a cash increase of £33.9 billion a year by 2023-24. This takes the NHS budget from £114.6 billion in 2018-19 to over £160 billion in 2024-25. These investments will allow the NHS to continue providing the services people need. The Government is also providing significant financial support – up to £350 – to the majority of households, which will cover more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1bn in 2022-23. The Government is providing further support for vulnerable households, elderly and low-income people through the Warm Home Discount - which is being expanded by a third to 3m people and increased to £150 – in addition to the continuation of Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments. Our £500m Household Support Fund has also been available to Local Authorities to help vulnerable households this winter.

Council Tax: Rebates

Imran Hussain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether people exempt from paying council tax will qualify for the council tax rebate.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government has announced a £150 non-repayable council tax rebate from April this year for households in England in council tax bands A-D. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have published guidance on eligibility among households that are exempt from council tax; some of these households might be eligible for the discretionary funding administered by local authorities if they are not eligible for the core scheme.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Video Games: Investment

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposal by The Independent Game Developers’ Association to introduce a Video Games Investment Fund.

Julia Lopez: The government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s games sector. As part of a wider package of support for the creative industries, the government has announced an £8 million expansion of the UK Games Fund. The UK Games Fund will provide valuable support to early stage games development businesses and talented graduates throughout the UK.We are not seeking to take forward a proposal for a new Video Games Investment Fund. We welcome continued discussions with the games industry on how best to support a thriving UK games sector.

Digital Radio and Audio Review

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of including the recommendations of the digital radio and audio review published on 21 October 2021 in the broadcasting white paper.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to extend enabling powers on prominence and access in television to UK radio services online and on smart speakers.

Julia Lopez: The government is considering the recommendations made by the Digital Radio and Audio Review in October 2021 and will publish its response shortly.The Review included a number of detailed recommendations about the need for new regulation to ensure that radio listeners continue to have free access to radio services when listening on smart speaker devices and to ensure that radio services are not discriminated against by platforms that carry audio services. The government will address these important issues as part of the government’s overall response to the Review.

Dormant Assets Scheme: Public Consultation

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's time frame is for the dormant assets consultation period following Royal Assent of the Dormant Assets Bill.

Nigel Huddleston: The consultation to determine the social and environmental focus of the English expenditure of future dormant assets funding will be launched as soon as Summer 2022. The consultation will be open for at least 12 weeks, with the government response to the consultation being published within 12 weeks of the consultation closure.

Gambling

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department will publish its Gambling White Paper.

Chris Philp: The Gambling Act Review is wide-ranging and aims to ensure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. We will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming months.

National Lottery: Tickets

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any consideration is taken in the distribution of lottery funds of the level of ticket sales in areas of the country.

Chris Philp: National Lottery funding is awarded by 12 distributors working at arm’s length from the government. Distribution of funding is generally an application-driven process but distributors are expected to ensure a wide geographical reach.The Department does not routinely receive information on the level of ticket sales in different areas of the country.

Coronavirus: Disinformation

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the penalties for people found guilty of deliberately creating and spreading misinformation on covid-19 vaccines.

Chris Philp: The Government takes the issue of misinformation and disinformation very seriously.The Online Safety Bill will force companies to take action to prevent the proliferation of illegal content online that is in scope of the Bill, including illegal misinformation and disinformation. This would include misinformation containing direct incitement to violence such as encouraging violence against public health officials on the false premise that COVID-19 is a hoax.The Law Commission’s recommended false communications offence is also being brought into law through the Bill. This will capture any communications where the individual knows the information to be false but sends this communication intending to cause harm. This would include dangerous disinformation about the vaccine, or hoax COVID-19 treatments. The offence will be summary only and will carry a maximum penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine, or both.The Online Safety Bill will also require the biggest companies to address content that is legal but causes significant physical or psychological harm to adults - including some types of misinformation and disinformation, such as anti-vaccination content.Alongside this legislation, the government has also developed a Media Literacy Strategy and SHARE checklist which aims to increase audience resilience by educating and empowering those who see, inadvertently share and are affected by false and misleading information.

Prime Minister

10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119829, if he will list the party political receptions that were held at 10 Downing Street from October to December 2020.

Boris Johnson: Details of official receptions are published in quarterly transparency returns on gov.uk. Political receptions are not a Government matter. Notwithstanding, over the last two years, the planning and organisation of formal receptions have followed and reflected the prevailing covid restrictions and guidance.

Investigation into Alleged Gatherings on Government Premises During Covid Restrictions

Mr Mark Harper: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Cabinet Office paper, Investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during covid restrictions: Update, published 31 January 2022, and the terms of reference in Annex A of that document, whether the meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information gathered, referred to in paragraph 14 of that paper, has been written.

Boris Johnson: I refer the Hon. Member back to the answer my Rt Hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office gave the Hon. Member for New Forest East on 21 February 2022 (UIN 120605).